


Avengers University

by rotg5311



Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: M/M, Slow Build, Student Bucky Barnes, Student Loki (Marvel), Student Natasha Romanov, Underage Drinking
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-07
Updated: 2018-08-21
Packaged: 2019-06-06 12:01:57
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 25
Words: 24,815
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15194363
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rotg5311/pseuds/rotg5311
Summary: Just a Loki-centric College AU.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Just something I've been thinking of for a while now. There will be a lot of feels. And my favorite friend trio will make an appearance (Loki,Bucky,Natahsa). So... enjoy.

His dorm was impressive. He had been expecting something a tad bit cozier. But in all honesty, Loki was surprised to say that maybe he wouldn’t mind sharing a dorm since they’d both have plenty of room. Within the dorm was a small kitchen connected to a living room. Off to the left was the bathroom, unfortunately small for Loki’s tastes. But the size of the bedroom made up for that. Of course it was smaller than the one he grew up in at home, yet so much bigger than he had expected. Since his dormmate hadn’t arrived yet, Loki decided to check out the other bedroom down the hall. First come first serve.  
After a quick look around he settled on the first room he looked in. Both had been roughly the same, however the first one was closer to the bathroom. It would be easier to get to in the middle of the night. So reluctantly he sent a message to Thor, asking him to bring up the rest of his stuff. He didn’t feel like making another trip up the stairs, arms full of boxes and bags. It sounded like work he didn’t want to do. At least his dumb oaf of a brother was good at something. Minutes later said oaf came barreling through the door, arms packed with as much as he could carry.  
“Brother!” Thor said in his booming voice. “I don’t know how you fit all this in the car, but there’s still more.”  
“Tight squeeze, but I managed. Some things were too important to leave behind. I did need more than two shirts and a pair of underwear like you Thor.” It never ceased to amaze him how fast Thor could put him in a sour mood. They made it a whole thirty seconds this time, which unfortunately was about usual.  
Thor just laughed it off like he did with all the jabs and digs Loki threw his way. It was infuriating. Thankfully he just placed the stuff in Loki’s room and went to get the rest. When everything was in his room, Loki hurried Thor out the door before he could offer to help unpack. Looking like a kicked puppy, Thor just left, promising to check in on him after his own stuff had been unpacked. Hopefully it would take a long, long time.  
It was a miracle Loki didn’t have Thor as a dormmate. Thor tried so hard to get it to happen. Loki had to beg his Mother to make sure it didn’t happen. He was grateful that she understood his desperation to get away from Thor. It was bad enough they were going to the same College. But this is where Loki wanted to go, and he wasn’t going to let Thor get in his way of that.  
Loki managed to make his bed, put all his books on the shelf, and start to hang up some of his clothes before he heard the door open again. Sighing, he hoped in wasn’t Thor back so soon. He had only been joking about him not packing enough things, but he thought it would take him a little longer than this to unpack and get settled in. Making his way out of the room, he had his mouth open, ready to yell at Thor. Instead he saw a tall, handsome man standing there instead. The most noticeable thing about the man was his arms. The left one was covered in tattoos, from the tip of his fingers, all the way up, getting cut off halfway up his arm by the shirt he was wearing. Loki wondered if it went al the way up to his shoulder, or if it even stopped there. Maybe it spread across his chest or back. Either way, it was a beautiful work of art, even from across the room where he couldn’t make out all the details.  
The man’s eyes glazed the room before eventually landing on Loki. He placed his stuff in the corner before making his way over. He peeked in the room behind Loki, noticing the boxes inside.  
“Well I guess you got dibs on this room.” The man said. Loki could hear a faint accent, as if the man was consciously trying to get rid of it. It was defiantly American, but he couldn’t quite place it. “Oh well, I should’ve got here sooner. No worries. So I guess that’s mine down the hall?”  
“Indeed.” Loki watched the man walk into the other room only to return moments later with a smile.  
“It’s great, I love it.” The man walked back to Loki, sticking his hand out to shake, which Loki took hesitantly. “Nice to meet you. The names James Buchanan Barnes. I think we’re gunna be great Roommates.”


	2. Chapter 2

Luckily Loki managed to dodge Thor that night. He sent him a text saying he wanted to spend some time getting to know his new roommate. It wasn’t really a lie. He did want to get to know James, he just didn’t know how. After their introductions, they went to their own rooms to unpack. Loki had been there since. Finishing up the final touches, Loki felt pleased. His room looked nice and neat and he planned on keeping it that way now that Thor wasn’t around. His brother had always been a slob, moving room to room as if a whirlwind was following him, tearing up everything in his trail.  
Around dinner time, Loki crawled out of his hidey-hole. There wasn’t anything in the kitchen yet, he hadn’t thought to shop beforehand, it would have to wait until tomorrow. He also didn’t know what time the dining hall stopped serving dinner. That left take-out. Shuffling to James’ door, he hesitantly knocked. Seconds later the door flew open.  
“Wassup?” James said. He had changed into a tank top and pajama bottoms. Loki desperately wanted to inspect the tattoos on his arm. Figuring it might be weird, his eyes avoided it like the plague.  
“There’s no food. I was going to order something. What do you want? My treat.” Actually, Odin’s treat. His father had given him and Thor each a card with practically unlimited money on it. While he hated the man, he loved the money.  
“Roommate bonding time? Sure!” James’ smile was so sweet and pure. “Your treat, my choice? Chinese.”  
“Chinese it is, James.” He said, searching his phone for a good place to order.  
“It’s Bucky.” James told him with a sour look on his face.  
“What is?”  
“My name.” He told him. “Everyone calls me Bucky.”  
“Does it say Bucky on your birth certificate?” Loki asked him.  
“Well, no…”  
“Does it say James?”  
“Yes.”  
“Then I shall call you James.” Loki smiled smuggly at the other man. James just shrugged.  
“Ok, Mom.”  
“Very funny. Now pick what you want to eat and call them. I don’t like phone calls. I buy, you call. Its only fair.” James just shrugged. When they finally had their order ready, Loki was fairly surprised with James’ over-the-phone voice. It was so polite, so fake.  
They made small talk while they waited for the food. Apparently James was a majoring in Linguistics. He had a fascination with language, and even spoke a few different ones. Loki on the other hand was majoring in Psychology. It was a terrible disappointment for Odin, but Loki would share that with James some other time.  
At the sound of rapping on the door, Loki jumped up to grab the food. He was starving. They spread the food across the coffee table, deciding to share what they had ordered. The couch was fairly comfortable, and Loki wondered how many people had used it before him. Hopefully it got cleaned at the end of each year.  
“Alright, movie time.” James said, grabbing for the remote. “I picked dinner, you pick a movie.”  
“How about ‘The Breakfast Club’?” For some reason it was the first movie that popped into his head.  
“Seen it. Pick something that came out this century.”  
“Don’t throw shade because you have no taste.” Loki tried to look mad at James. “What about 10 Cloverfield Lane?”  
“My taste is impeccable. But fine, we’ll watch that. I wanted to anyways, just never got around to it.” James relaxed into the opposite end of the couch and searched for the movie to rent.  
Since Loki had already seen it, most of his time was spent watching James. He smirked every time the man jumped, and devoured every emotion that showed on his face. Sure, it was only their first night together as roommates, but Loki had a feeling they’d become good friends. He just hoped Thor wouldn’t find a way to ruin this too. It would be nice to have at least one friend that didn’t look at Thor like he was a God.  
“What the hell!” James exclaimed as the credits started to roll. His eyes flew over to look at Loki. “What did I just watch?”  
“You just watched a good movie. You act like you’ve never seen one before.” Loki was trying so hard not to smile. James’ reaction had almost mirrored Loki’s perfectly the first time he saw it.  
“Loki that’s not funny. I need time to process that movie. Like…what the hell?”  
With that they said their goodnights. Loki went to sleep with a warm feeling in his chest. He had been really worried about who he would be living with for the year, even if he wouldn’t admit it to anyone but himself. But now he had the feeling that things would be just fine. Finally things were going right with his life.


	3. Chapter 3

Things were going right for Loki. Unfortunately that miracle was short lived. First, his alarm didn’t go off on time. Then he couldn’t find the shirt he planned on wearing his first day. Since he was late, he also didn’t have time to stop and get breakfast before class. Finally, he got lost.  
As he roamed the campus looking for the right building, Loki decided that things never go right in his life. His ‘good fortune’ was disguised as a blessing, when in reality it was just the calm before the storm. So bracing himself for the worst, he kept his chin up and waited for the other shoe to drop.  
Surprisingly, once he managed to find his class, the rest of the morning went without incident. It was oddly suspicious. He made his way to the Dining Hall for lunch, stomach growling form the lack of breakfast. His eyes searched the crowd for James and Thor. James to sit with, Thor to avoid. Unfortunately Loki couldn’t find either of them. At least he was used to sitting alone. He made a mental note to ask James about his schedule. Maybe they’d have overlapping time where they could eat together. Come to think of it, he didn’t even know if James had been in the dorm when he left this morning. Either his classes started at an ungodly hour, or they started late in the day, neither of which sounded particularly appealing.  
Like a good student, Loki had turned off his phone so it wouldn’t interrupt his lectures. So when he turned it back on as he ate his half decent food, he wasn’t really surprised to see about twenty texts from Thor. Ignoring them, he read the two from his Mother first.  
‘Good Morning, Loki. I hope you have a wonderful first day.’  
‘Dear, please answer your Brother. Don’t forget to give me a call tonight. I love you.’  
Frigga was an amazing Mother. Loki loved her. She was the only one in the family that he truly liked. Sure, Thor was okay on occasions, mostly for hard labor or a good laugh at his expense, but Loki mainly hated him. Their Mother on the other hand was a true Godsend. He didn’t need to be told to call her that night, he was going to do it regardless. It didn’t surprise him that Thor ratted him out. He had probably sent Mother an equal amount of texts asking for Loki. For someone so stupid, he sure did find out the easiest way to get a hold of Loki was in fact going through someone else.  
Reluctantly he scrolled through all of Thor’s messages. He had wanted to have breakfast together, lunch together, and dinner together. Loki managed to inadvertently avoid the first two, hopefully something would come up to get him out of the last one. Though he was sure the longer he avoided his Brother, the higher the chances were that Thor would bust through a door and drag him into a hug. Hopefully it wouldn’t be a door to one of his classes, but when it came to Thor, you just never knew.  
‘Lunch tomorrow, Noon. Take me somewhere nice, no Italian.’ His text was simple and plain. Surely Thor couldn’t mess it up. The reply that he got in return was just a bunch of smiley face emoji’s ending with a heart. Disgusting.  
Thankfully the second half of his day flew by without incident. No more getting lost, no more being late. Loki had almost been back at his dorm when he turned a corner and rammed into something. He managed to catch himself on the wall, the something he slammed into wasn’t so luck. A girl with the most amazing shade of red hair he had ever seen had been knocked to the ground. Luckily her bag caught her fall (Or unluckily, depending on what pointy sharp object were inside). Her eyes went from the cup of coffee laying on the ground next to her up to Loki. ‘Murder’ wasn’t exactly a nice look on her face, but she did it amazingly well.  
“Oh my! I’m so sorry, Miss. Are you alright?” Loki could’ve slapped himself for staring at her for so long. He should’ve helped her up immediately. Instead, she just ignored his outstretched hand and lifted herself up with ease.  
“Would’ve been better if you’d done that before I spent five dollars on a coffee I didn’t even get to taste.” Loki had rarely seen that much attitude in someone so small. He wondered how it all fit in there. It was truly amazing.  
“Then let me make it up by buying you another coffee. I saw a lovely coffee shop down the street yesterday. I haven’t been there yet, but they cant be too bad. And if they are I wont stop buying you coffee until you’re happy.” Loki had been trying to do the gentlemanly thing, but when he saw the devilish grin on the girls face, he realized he had just potentially promised her unlimited coffee.  
“Big mistake, Honey. I’m never happy. But I’ll take you up on your offer. I’m Natasha by the way.” She introduced herself, holding out an arm for Loki to link his with.  
“Nice to meet you, Natasha. I’m Loki.”


	4. Chapter 4

With no morning classes the next day, Loki had stayed out unusually late with his new friend Natasha. She was something else entirely. She had the confidence and poise of a Queen. It was apparent to everyone, Natasha included, that she was the best looking girl in the coffee house. But Loki figured that was the case most places she went. At one point, some guy even came over to ask her for her number. Natasha had been in the middle of showing Loki a picture on her phone. So with her cell phone in hand, she simply turned to him with the most uninterested look on her face.  
“I don’t have a phone.” The guy was so stunned at the obvious rejection that he didn’t even reply. He just walked off with his tail between his legs. “Anyways, I’m only five in this picture, so understandably my form is awful.”  
“Nat, Darling. Rewind.” Loki told her, still reeling from the most powerful rejection he had ever seen in his life. “What did I just see?”  
“Oh that?” She shrugged it off like it was nothing, taking a sip of her coffee. “Men don’t take ‘no’ too well. They think it’s a game. If you knock them off their game, you get the upper hand. He’s flustered and embarrassed. And I don’t have to deal with his trash-ass because he ran away. it’s the perfect solution.”  
“You truly are an inspiration.” Loki said it and meant it. Then he took a look at the picture she had been trying to show him. It was a young girl, with the same beautiful hair on her head that Natasha had. She had on a crisp clean white outfit, tutu and all. From what Loki could tell, the picture was snapped in the middle of a pirouette. “Your form looks great here, what are you talking about?”  
“Better than most five year olds doesn’t mean perfect. Besides, its nothing compared to what I can do now.” While her face looked blank, he could see the pride in her eyes.  
“So I take it you’re a dance major?” Ballet had always interested Loki. His Mother had even taken him to a few shows.  
“No. Pre-law. I can already dance better than half the people here. So I’ve decided to master another skill.”  
“Well I’m sure you’ll be amazing. If all else fails, you can just hold up all the evidence of your client being guilt and tell the Judge he’s innocent. I’m sure he’ll believe you.” Natasha’s laugh was so genuine and pure, Loki couldn’t help but join in.  
They had stayed at the coffee shop much longer than they reasonably should’ve, but Loki was having such a great time talking with Natasha that he didn’t mind. He hoped she didn’t mind either. When they finally decided to leave, Natasha swore up and down she hated the coffee there and made Loki promise to take her out again. He was absolutely delighted. For a while they just walked around campus, talking. Who knew strolling through the gardens with a stranger could be so fun? But then again, Natasha didn’t feel like a stranger. There was something almost comforting about her presence.  
Eventually they called it a night. Loki didn’t have to wake up early, but Natasha did. So like the gentleman he was, Loki walked her to her dorm to make sure she made it safe. Though he had a vague feeling she could handle herself. Making sure to exchange numbers, he promised he’d text her when he made it back to his room safely.  
He sent the text as he walked through his front door, not noticing James until he was already in the apartment. The man clearly had attempted to make food, though Loki wasn’t sure at first what it was. Pots and pans were sprawled across every surface of their very, very tiny kitchen. There was a slightly smoky haze in the air, along with a burnt smell. The cause of the mess just stood their sheepishly, trying to look innocent.  
“Man, I really wish you’d come home sooner. I think I burnt dinner.” James just told him, attempting to flash a smile. “I’m sure it doesn’t taste that bad though.”  
It did. Clearly cooking wasn’t his strong suit. After that Loki gave James his number, telling him to text him next time he tried cooking anything. If Loki couldn’t walk him through it over the phone then he shouldn’t be attempting to cook it at all. And like the night before, they picked out a movie to watch. Maybe they’d stay friends, maybe James would meet other people who had a lot more to offer than just sitting around watching movies. But Loki was going to enjoy this as long as it lasted.


	5. Chapter 5

With nothing to do that day, besides meet Thor, Loki wasn’t in a rush to get ready. So he just laid in bed for a while looking at the ceiling. When he decided he couldn’t hold in his pee anymore, he got up and headed for the bathroom. He opened his bedroom door and practically ran into his almost naked roommate.  
James had just gotten out of the shower. His hair was wet, slicked back out of his face. A towel was wrapped dangerously loose around his hips. And Loki couldn’t help but give his body a longer than usual once over. Loki was torn between looking at the washboard abs in front of him and the now fully exposed tattoo that was inches away from him. So his eyes did the worst thing they possibly could’ve done and looked down. He managed to get a glimpse of what appeared to be a red star peeking out from under the towel on the divot of James’s hip before he snapped back to reality.  
“Like what you see?” James asked with a smirk and a chuckle.  
“Oh absolutely. I’m just trying to figure out why its on display.” Loki shot back at him.  
“Well if you’ve got it, flaunt it.” Wiggling his hips, James walked past Loki to his room to get ready for the day. Loki just headed to the bathroom shaking his head. Eventually he would ask about all those tattoos.  
Loki spent as much time doing nothing as he possibly could, waiting until the very last second to get ready. He didn’t really want to see Thor, but he was sure Mother would hear about it if he canceled now. Reluctantly, he headed out and waited for Thor to pick him up. He had access to a car anytime he wanted, he just preferred not driving. As long as Thor was around, it was like having his own chauffeur anyways.  
From the second he got in the car Thor talked nonstop. While he didn’t listen to specifics, it was nice to have someone to fill the silence. It was also nice that Thor never expected an answer in return. He just moved from one story to another as if they were all intertwined. Loki just sat there politely and pretended to listen. He wondered if Thor knew that’s what he usually did, or if his brother actually thought Loki was clinging to his every word.  
“So will you come?” The question dragged Loki out of his head. He had trained himself long ago to pick up on questions. It kept Thor from running to Mother crying about being ignored.  
“Sorry, I saw the strangest thing across the street. Can you tell me that again?” Thankfully they had been seated near a window. If Thor knew it was a lie, he didn’t call Loki out on it. He just retold him about a party his roommate was throwing. It was supposed to be ‘all the rage’ and ‘everyone would be there’ and it was ‘the perfect opportunity to make friends’. It sounded dreadful. There was no way he’d go.  
“I’d love to, Thor. But sadly I have a paper due the following Monday. I’ll probably be working late into the night all weekend to get it done. If I finish early, I’ll make sure to swing by and introduce myself to your friend.” Lies lies lies. There was no paper, and if there was it wouldn’t take him an entire weekend to write. Luckily Thor was just happy that Loki agreed to show up if he had the time. As if he’d spend any of his precious free time trying to impress his brothers roommate.  
When Thor finally dropped Loki off, he was pretty much at his weekly Thor limit. As much time as he spent around his brother, he always found that he needed at least twice that of recovery time. It was just so exhausting trying to play nice. How someone so smart (himself) and someone so stupid (Thor) came from the same genes was absolutely baffling to him. Genetics just must be funny like that. Or maybe the Gods had a terrible sense of humor, saddling him with Thor for life.  
‘Wanna hang out? Bring coffee ;)’ Was the only message he saw on his phone. Apparently Natasha had been serious about taking advantage of his offer. Not that he minded. She texted him directions to her dorm and within minutes from getting home, he was back out again. Maybe she would like the Dining Hall coffee better than what the coffee shop had to offer. But just for good measure, he picked up some muffins too.  
The girls dorms were so similar yet so different than the boys. Similar in that they were set up the exact same. Different in that there was a completely different energy. He felt it as soon as he walked through the front doors. While the boys was a place for keg parties, the girls was for slumber parties and makeovers. He was certain they had just as many wild parties here, but vibes were everything. And they managed to give off good ones.  
“Let me in, I have treats.” Loki said loudly, tapping on the door in front of him. He hoped it was the right dorm or this was going to get awkward fast.  
“Hallelujah.” The reply came from the other side of the door before it opened. Natasha looked like she could use the coffee. Clearly she had just rolled out of bed.  
“I thought you had a lecture hours ago?” He asked as he walked into the dorm, following her to the couch. She sat down and took a very, very big sip out of her coffee before replying.  
“I did. And one that starts in about two minutes. I overslept.” She said it as if it were no big deal. It was a mortifying thought for Loki.  
“Oversleeping is a good excuse for your first class. But you texted me with plenty of time to make it to your next class.”  
“Oh boo. I missed a day. There’s plenty more coming up. Besides, my insides are falling out, I can sleep the pain away if I want.” Clearly Natasha wasn’t the type of girl to be embarrassed of sharing too much information. He should’ve figured she’d be like that anyways. Besides, it was a natural thing, nothing to be ashamed of. Sometimes he didn’t get why certain things were socially unacceptable.  
“Well, Darling, if I had known that I would’ve brought you something with a little more chocolate in it than a blueberry muffin.” He handed her the bag, to which she promptly started inhaling one of the muffins.  
“Better than nothing. Thanks. Oh hey, there’s a party this weekend. And I get the feeling you hate people as much as I do, but lets say I have my reasons for going and I could really use the company.”  
It was a big campus, so Loki was hopeful that this wasn’t the same party Thor had invited him to. But when did anything ever work out the way he wanted?


	6. Chapter 6

Natasha promised to stay with him at the party. The last thing he wanted was to be in a crowd by himself. But for good measure, he invited James too. If Natasha’s reason for being at the party was to meet a guy, he wanted her to be able to leave with him if need be. As long as James was there with him, he shouldn’t be alone. In theory it was a great plan. In reality, of course it didn’t work out the way he planned.  
Since the party was on a different floor in their building, Natasha met up with them at their dorm. She definitely looked like she was meeting someone. Her black dress went practically down to her belly button, and was as short as it possibly could be without showing off her goods. Loki wondered how she could walk in heels so high. Her hair was curled in a very old fashioned manner. The look was topped off with red lipstick.  
“Hot damn.” James said as soon as his eyes landed on her. “Loki, I thought I was going to be the best looking person at the party. Why’d you have to bring an angel with you?”  
“Flattering. But cheesy.” Natasha flashed him a killer smile. “I’m Natasha. You must be James.”  
“Oh God he got to you, too.” James looked mortified. “Please, call me Bucky.”  
“You weren’t named Bucky. You were named James.” It wasn’t the first time they had this conversation and he sure it wouldn’t be the last. He might have even called him Bucky eventually, but he had gone too far, now the name James just stuck.  
“Boys, no time to fight. We’ve got a party to arrive fashionably late to.” Her eyes glanced between them. “Maybe we should have a little outfit discussion next time.”  
Looking down, Loki noticed the three of them were wearing all black. It made him laugh. His Mother often scolded him for wearing black on black. Surely she would be speechless if she could see that his only friends had the same taste.  
“Black is a great color! Besides, we’ve got natural color. Your red hair, his green eyes, and all these tats.” James flexed his left arm at them, showing off his sleeve. “Ok well mines not technically natural, but still. You get the point.”  
“Nice, I’ll have to get a good look at all those later.” Natasha told him, ushering them out the door. “Maybe I can show you mine sometime too.”  
“Doll, that sounds like a fun time. Considering I don’t see any tattoo’s now. And lets face it, you’re not wearing much, there’s only so many places it can be.” James was practically bouncing up the stairs at the thought.  
“I bet it matches that one you have, James.” Loki interrupted. James Immediately tensed up.  
“Not funny, man.”  
“Oh? Bucky, I’d love to hear about it. And Loki I’d love to hear about how you know about it.” Natasha was grinning like the Cheshire Cat. She was clearly enjoying this too much.  
So Loki did what he did best and redirected the conversation. He didn’t need James telling Natasha how Loki ogled his almost naked, wet body. Instead he pointed to someone stumbling around the hall. The kid was clearly drunk and having the time of his life. The further down the hall he looked, the more people he saw like that. When Thor had said it was his dormmates party, he had kind of figured the party would take place in the dorm. But apparently when they couldn’t fit anymore people in the dorm, they just opened the door and let the party flow into the hall. Now about three doors were opened, rooms packed with people.  
They bobbed and weaved through the crowd in the hallway. His chances of running into Thor with this many people were slim. It was better than he had expected. They made their way into one of the dorm rooms and over to the table to help themselves to the drinks. Both Natasha and James grabbed beers, while Loki settled on a soda. He rarely drank alcohol, and he didn’t feel like it with so many people around. It was more people to see him make a fool of himself.  
Music was blasting, people were dancing, and Loki was having fun. He didn’t even mind when Natasha slipped off into the crowd. It looked like she was heading after someone, but Loki couldn’t see who it was exactly. As long as he stayed with James, he would be fine. Suddenly James was pulling away, headed for someone in the other corner of the room. The guy looked like he should be a model for aeropostale, all buff and blonde.  
“Stevie?” James said, catching the guys attention. They made eye contact for a few seconds before the other man was up and pulling James into a hug. And just like that, Loki knew he lost his barrier from having to interact with people at the party. It was absolutely dreadful.


	7. Chapter 7

It was an oddly long hug. Loki assumed either it was the alcohol or James and the mystery hunk were extremely close. The man who had been standing with the blonde looked equally confused. So Loki just gave him a ‘I don’t know either’ gesture. It earned a chuckle.  
“Bucky!” The two pulled apart, yet the man kept his hands firmly planted on James’s arms, as if he’s disappear if he let go. “What are you doing here? I haven’t seen you in forever.”  
“I know. What are the chances?” Just then James seemed to remember Loki. “Steve, this is Loki. He’s my roommate.”  
“It’s great to meet you.” Steve said, finally releasing James. His handshake was extremely firm. He gestured to the man behind him. “This is my roommate, Sam.”  
“Pleasure.” Loki said, shaking Sam’s hand out of politeness. It was enough handshaking to last him the rest of the year.  
He noticed the way Sam’s face changed when he looked at James. He had given Loki a genuine smile, yet it turned into something else entirely when he shook James’ hand. If anyone else seemed to notice, they didn’t say anything.  
Not wanting to intrude on two friends reminiscing, Loki slowly backed away. When they didn’t immediately notice he was gone, he took off in the other direction. He stood at the table, looking at the drinks. Maybe he should have something more than just a soda. Maybe he should go home. Before he could decide, someone slammed into him, which in turn almost caused the entire drink contents on the table to end up on the floor.  
“I beg your pardon.” Loki said, twirling around. A man stood there, at least a head shorter than him. One side of his face had a blue and red stripe down it, the school colors. The other side had three lipstick marks on it. It was dark, but Loki could’ve sworn they were three different shades.  
“Oh sorry, Buddy. Just getting a drink for that lovely lady over there.” He turned around to point, but couldn’t seem to find the right girl. “Oh well, someone will take this drink.”  
“Delightful.” He said it with disdain. He hoped the guy would get his drink and be gone soon.  
“Hey, none of that. It’s a party, cheer up!” The man smiled as if realizing something. “You need a drink, loosen up.”  
“Yeah, some party. I was just about to leave.” Loki made up his mind. Natasha and James were both preoccupied. The only other person here he knew was Thor, and he wanted to take off before he ran into him.  
“You don’t like the party?” The man looked genuinely offended. Loki couldn’t imagine why. It must be some weird jock thing.  
“Not in the slightest. It’s positively dreadful.”  
“I know what you need. There’s plenty of girls here. Lets see if we can find you one.” The man said, starting to pull Loki into the crowd.  
“No.” Loki had met enough people for the night. Besides he didn’t need some stranger to play matchmaker.  
“Oh. Ok well there’s plenty of guys here, too. My roommate! I don’t know if that’s how he rolls but its worth a shot. He’s really good looking, just not my type.” He just kept babbling. Loki wondered if he was high or if he was always this talkative. Hopefully he’d never find out.  
“No that’s not-” He cut himself off. Guys, girls, it didn’t really matter. Either way, he didn’t feel like meeting someone here at all. “I’m fine. Really.”  
“Come on, I insist.” He said, pulling Loki out into the hall. How dare he put his hands on him at all. “Once you see him I’m sure you’ll change your mind. He’s going to make someone really happy someday. But for now the goal is to get you happy at my party. Oh look here he is now.”  
As the reality of his words sank in, Loki just wished he could float away. Or turn back time. Anything so he wouldn’t have to be here. If the man dragging him along was the host of the party, then that meant he was Thor’s roommate. That also meant he was technically trying to set him up with Thor. His own Brother. Loki shuddered at the thought. And the worst part was that he had just spent his entire time with this man telling him how much his party sucked. He had more manners than to tell the host that their party was awful. Now he just felt like an ass.  
“Wait. No, I need to leave.” Loki desperately tried to pull away, but Thor had spotted him and was rushing towards him, trying his best not to knock anyone over, yet still barreling through the crowd. He had a similar paint mark across his face, but in addition there was a bear claw pattern of red and blue paint down his chest. Where in the world was his shirt?  
“BROTHER!” Thor yelled, tackling Loki into a hug. He smelled like cheap beer and sweat. It was disgusting. Hopefully his paint wouldn’t ruin Loki’s clothes. True he had plenty of black shirts but this was one of his favorites. “I’m so glad you made it. I see you’ve already met my roommate.”  
“Brother, huh?” The roommate had the decency to look sheepish. “Well then lets see if we can find you someone else here. I’m Tony by the way. Tony Stark.”


	8. Chapter 8

No matter how hard he tried, it still took an unbearable amount of time to ditch Thor. His friend Anthony had been stolen away by several girls in short skirts. But Thor kept an eye on Loki, as if he knew he would sneak off the first chance he got. It was exactly what he was trying to do, and he was mad at Thor for being smart enough to expect it.  
At first he tried showing Loki his bedroom, but instead opened the door to three people in a very compromising situation. He shut the door just as quickly and laughed it off, saying he’d wash the sheets tomorrow. As if. Loki would rather burn them and get new ones. But Thor was apparently a savage. Which Loki already knew.  
Then Thor tried looking for some of his new friends to introduce Loki to. Fortunately even Thor, one of the tallest people at the party couldn’t spot out anyone in the crowd. It made Loki wonder how he had even spotted him in the first place. It was like Loki was a beaconing device for his Brother.  
Finally, with a little bit of luck, a group of frat-looking guys tore Thor away, begging to see his ‘Famous’ keg stand. Loki wondered what that was all about, but didn’t hang around long enough to find out. He made his way back to where he had left James, checking to see if he was still with his friend from before. At the very least, Loki planned on letting him know that he was leaving.  
When he couldn’t find James, he did a quick crowd search for Natasha. Her hair was noticeable from a mile away. Either she was at another part of the party, or she had left with someone. He doubted she would leave by herself this early. Since he couldn’t find either of them, he just made his way back to his dorm. If Loki saw this many people again in a hundred years it would still be too soon.  
Opening the door to their dorm, he was surprised to see James already there. He thought James had been drinking a lot while they were hanging out together, but it must’ve gotten worse when Loki left. James was currently sitting on the floor, looking at the chair that had probably knocked him over. He saw Loki and burst into a fit of giggles, before stopping abruptly.  
“I hate him.” Was the only thing he said.  
“The chair? Well James, I’m sure he didn’t mean to trip you. And you probably started it.” Loki made himself laugh, even if the joke went completely over his friends head.  
“No. Steve’s friend.” By now James was attempting and failing miserably at trying to pick himself off the floor. Loki would watch for another few seconds before helping him. He had to get his laughs in somehow. “He thinks cuz I was gone he’s Stevie’s new best friend. But NO! That’s my job. I’ll show him.”  
“Of course you will.” Loki had no idea who Steve really was or what connection he had to James. But he would find out tomorrow. For now he just helped haul James up off the floor and into his room. It was a lot messier than Loki’s own room, and navigating around the piles of clothes and whatnot was difficult while also trying to get James to walk in a straight line. Next time James went out to party Loki would make him clean his room first. He couldn’t be expected to put him safely to bed when he could barley even get to the bed.  
Finally he plopped James onto the mattress. He took his shoes off for him, then his pants. Normally he wouldn’t undress anyone without their consent, but they were friends, James was barley coherent, and he was wearing skinny jeans. Of course they made his ass look fantastic, Loki had snuck a peek while following him up the stairs to the party, but he couldn’t be expected to sleep in them. It took a little bit of effort to roll James onto his stomach. He had passed out and Loki had to manhandle him, but he didn’t want to risk having him choke on his own puke if he threw up during the night.  
In the bathroom, he grabbed the trash bin and emptied it out. Then he grabbed a water from the fridge and brought them into James’ room. Hopefully he would see the bucket when he woke up, if he needed to expel his alcoholic-demons before he could make it to the bathroom. Loki had never had a hangover, but he heard water helped, so he left the bottle on the nightstand.  
“Goodnight, Bucky.” He said as he walked out of the room. James mumbled in his sleep. And before he could relax he sent a text to Natasha to make sure she was safe. As the minutes ticked by, he was getting ready to give her a call, when she finally replied. She wasn’t at her dorm but she was safe. It made Loki wonder what her type was. There was a lot of attractive men at the party. Women too. He didn’t exactly know Natasha’s preference. He was definitely going to ask her about her little hook up tomorrow. But for now he was just going to curl up in bed with a good book. It was much better than being at the party.


	9. Chapter 9

“Loki!” Loki woke up, unsure if he actually heard someone calling his name or not. “Loki!”  
Jumping out of bed, he went to investigate. No one was in the living room or kitchen. He headed to James’ room, about to open the door before he heard his name called again. It was coming from the bathroom. Lightly rapping on the door, he waited for an answer.  
“Loki, please help.” James called from the other side of the door. Suddenly concerned, he whipped the door open only to see his friend on the floor. James was sat on the floor in front of the toilet. His arms wrapped around the sides, and his head was rested on them. Loki could see fresh tears in his eyes. James had the decency to flush the toilet as Loki walked through the door.  
“James, Dear, what’s wrong?” He knelt down next to James and rubbed his back. At some point during the night he must’ve taken off his shirt, because now he was only wearing underwear.  
“I don’t feel good.” James said, closing his eyes. Hopefully he was just enjoying the soft circles Loki was rubbing on his back.  
“You must’ve had too much to drink last night. You seemed pretty out of it when I put you to bed.”  
“I know. Don’t let me do it again.” James looked up at him and immediately frowned. Loki managed to pull back his long wavy hair just in time to save it from the fountain of vomit spewing out of James. He searched for a hair tie to keep it pulled back from James’ face.  
“Don’t worry. We’ll live the perfect Amish lives. No more drinking, or partying, or electronics, or running water.” Loki shifted into a more comfortable position on the floor, just waiting it out with his friend.  
“Oh god, I’d take this over that any day.” The chuckle turned into a groan, which in turn made Loki smirk. He wondered if this was enough of a deterrent to keep James from drinking too much again, or if he was in for more weekends sitting on the floor holding back hair.  
After a long time of Loki rubbing James’ back, James dry heaving because there was nothing left in his stomach, and a few bad jokes here and there, they finally got up. He followed James at a close distance to the couch, making sure he didn’t tip over. Once he was settled, curled up in a ball at one end, Loki went to get him some clothes. He grabbed the most comfortable things he could find in James’ pajama drawer, which was an oversized white cotton t-shirt and a fuzzy blue pair of bottoms with a splattered green pattern. As James slowly pulled his clothes on, Loki went into the kitchen and got him a cold bottle of water.  
“Drink all of this. It’ll help.” The only reply he got was a grunt. But sure enough James started sipping at the water slowly. “And you’ve got to eat, too.”  
Thankfully they had some eggs. Again, Loki could only guess that they would help. It’s what he heard. But he had no experience with it. It would have to do though. He would have to go pick up some Gatorade too. Water would only do so much. And James had thrown up a lot. By the time the eggs were cooked, James had already curled up and fallen asleep on thee couch. So Loki sat down and ate them instead. After he was done, he cooked up some more and placed them on the coffee table for when James woke up.  
He slipped into the shower, bathing the filth of last night off him. He didn’t drink, but he was sure the stench of alcohol had seeped into his skin somehow. Once he was clean, dry, and dressed, he went to check on James. Clearly he was feeling better. His plate was empty, as was his bottle of water. He still sat there with an empty look on his face.  
“How do you feel now?” Loki asked, hoping he felt at least somewhat better.  
“Like I want to die.” James grumbled.  
“Well you look like you might. So I’m going to go get you something else to drink. Keep you hydrated. What kind of Gatorade do you want?”  
“Blue.” James had reverted back to hiding under his blanket.  
“Glacier freeze? Cool Blue? Blue Cherry?” Loki didn’t miss the way James’ head shot out from under the blanket.  
“Gees Loki. What are you, a cop? No one calls them by their names. I want blue. Not Dark blue, not light blue. Just regular. A medium blue.”  
“So Cool Blue. I wont call them by their colors when they have names.” Loki placed their dirty dishes in the sink. He would clean them when he got home. “Need anything else while I’m out?”  
“Just a roommate that doesn’t hate me.” James said, closing his eyes. Hopefully a nap would help him feel better. The best cure for a hangover was sleep after all.  
“Good luck with that!” Loki called, shutting the door behind him. Just as he stepped out into the hallway, a door further down opened. He just smirked as he saw a mop of red hair peek out and make eye contact with him. “Hello, darling. I like your pajamas.”  
“Funny.” Natasha said, strolling over to him, wearing the same outfit he had seen her in the night before. “Walk me back to my place?”  
“Not into doing the walk of shame?” It was a joke, but Natasha didn’t look pleased.  
“It’s only a walk of shame if you’re embarrassed. You think I care? If anything, you should be thanking me. I’m a good look for you. You’re walking me home so if anyone sees they’ll think you’re a gentleman.”  
“I am a gentleman.” Loki scoffed.  
“Ok. A gentleman wouldn’t ask me to kiss and tell.” Natasha just smirked. They both knew he was dying to know.  
“I don’t want to know who you kissed last night. I just want to know who you fucked.”  
“Last night or this morning?” Loki almost choked. He didn’t know if she was joking or not, but he couldn’t wait to find out.


	10. Chapter 10

“So you didn’t go home with the guy you went there for?” Loki asked, being all caught up on the story. “But you didn’t really want to sleep with him anyways, you were doing it for a friend?”  
“Yes.” Natasha said it like it was the simplest thing in the world. “What don’t you understand? My room mate has been talking to some guy, and she wanted to know if he was serious about her or not. Clearly he is. I wasn’t the only girl trying for him last night.”  
“Ok. And that’s normal? Is that a thing girls do?” Loki was confused. It seemed so complicated. Why couldn’t people just say if they were serious or not, and actually mean it?  
“Don’t act all high and mighty. I wasn’t actually going to sleep with him. I just had to try. She’s been talking to him on and off since high school. I guess she wasn’t ready for a relationship then and she didn’t want to waste her time now. But I’ve got good news for her now.” Natasha was pleased with herself. There was just one flaw in her plan.  
“Yes but does she know that? I mean, you went to the party to sleep with her not-boyfriend, and you didn’t come home last night.”  
Natasha stopped, mid-step. Her already fair complexion paled completely. Whipping out her phone, she struggled to turn it on, as if the normal restart time of a cell phone was hours rather than a few seconds.  
“Fuck.” Was the only thing she said. Loki barley heard it, it was so inaudible. The more she scrolled, the more worried she looked. Finally her head snapped up, eyes unreadable. “You can leave me here. You don’t want to be around for this conversation.”  
They were at the entrance to the Girls dormitory, so Loki said his goodbyes and wished her luck. She was right, he probably didn’t want to hear an argument that he couldn’t fix. But he was defiantly going to ask her more about the guy she slept with. She didn’t know his name, just that he was really hot. Loki also didn’t know anyone else in the building besides James, Thor, and now Anthony. And it wasn’t any of them.  
So he made his way to the store down the road. He could call for a ride, or even ask Thor. But walking seemed like the best option. Right now he just wanted to be alone with his thoughts and his music. Thankfully he always had his headphones on him. The best part of having headphones in, was usually no one tried talking to you. However, he took them out for the cashier. Sure he didn’t like talking to people, but that didn’t mean he was rude.  
When he finally made it back to the dorm, he was surprised to see James awake and watching TV. He hadn’t been gone that long, but clearly this man could recover from cat naps. Loki wasn’t sure how to use that information, but he stored it for later. Maybe it would come in handy some day.  
“My knight in shining armor.” James said, not looking away from the TV.  
“I made you food and held your hair while you threw up. I’m sorry your standards are so low, James.” Loki plopped down on the couch, handing him one of the Gatorades, which James immediately opened and started to chug. “Slow down before you vomit again.”  
“Cant. Too thirsty.” James told him between gulps. “Its so good.”  
“Yes. Hydration is wonderful.” Loki couldn’t help the attitude from slipping from his lips. So many years with Thor, it was just second nature to mock and tease. Most of the time Thor never even noticed. But James and Natasha did. Sometimes they loved it, sometimes they hated it.  
“Less talk, more eggs.” James made a chop-chop motion with his hands. Loki just gave him a dirty look. “Please?”  
“Fine. But in return, I want a full report on last night.”  
“Worth it. Can I have more than two this time?”  
“Yes, I can make enough to fill that hollow leg of yours.” The amount of food James could eat was absurd. But that super fast metabolism contributed to all those muscles, so Loki couldn’t really complain.  
By the time James was done eating, he was back to his perfect, perky self. It was comical really. Every bite he took seemed to pull the curtain from his eyes just a tad more. He flipped through channels for a few minutes, finally settling on a documentary about animals.  
“Alright. I guess you want to know who that kid was last night. It’s a long story though. Do you want the long version or the short version?” James fiddled his fingers through the blanket, it wasn’t something he normally did. It almost seemed as if he was nervous. Loki couldn’t imagine why.  
“Whichever you feel comfortable telling. But I do love details.” Loki settled into the couch, ready for story time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey y'all. How many of you are going to see Patd? I'll be at the concert in AZ. I'm hella excited.
> 
> And dont forget to kudos and comment.


	11. Chapter 11

Loki sat quietly and listened to the whole story. There was times when he wanted to interject with outrage, or to comfort his friends, or to simply ask questions. But he saved everything until the end, not wanting to interrupt. James had a certain way with stories apparently, and Loki thought it would be a sin to break the magic. He never got sidetracked, he never had to struggle to find the right words, even though Loki could tell this wasn’t something he told often. It was truly amazing how James could evoke emotions in Loki as if he himself had been the one to go through it.  
James and Steve had been the very best of friends from a young age. The were practically inseparable. In fact, they were like brothers. So much so that James would often spend most of his time with Steve and his Mother Sarah. James’ own Mother had been sick for as long as he could remember. His Father was strict. No running, don’t be loud, and ‘don’t disturb your Mother.’ So he spent his time playing at Steve’s place. Steve’s Father died in combat. He had never even met him. But for James, it was great. He was secretly afraid of his own Father. So being in a place with no male, just a wonderful Mother was amazing.  
James was always protective of Steve. Apparently Steve had been scrawny and sickly, which was hard to believe. It was the complete opposite of the man he had seen the night before. Puberty had hit him like a train. Which is why it took James a while to recognize his childhood friend. He looked so different. Even though he had been a tiny little thing, he had the attitude of someone twice his size. Steve was always getting into fights. Not to fight, but to ‘uphold honor’, like he was some sort of justice warrior.  
It was admirable, but not something Loki could picture himself doing. Always fighting, knowing you’d always lose. But then again, Thor had always fought for him. If anyone even looked at Loki the wrong way, Thor would put them in their place. Somehow annoying when Thor did it, Loki couldn’t help but think it was the sweetest thing in the world knowing James did it for Steve.  
When James was twelve, his Mother finally passed away. It had been hard on him, but he had Steve and Sarah to help him through it. His Father had no one. He wouldn’t talk to James about it. Things got worse at home, so James stopped going home all together. His Father tried telling the police he ran away. They dragged him home. The more he snuck out, the angrier his Father got, until one day he forbid James from seeing Steve anymore.  
The fight that sprung from that had been their worst one yet. In a fit of rage, his Father beat James down, leaving him bloodied and bruised. So the more he saw Steve, the more James got hit. Finally he stopped. It hurt him so bad that he started acting out. He started shoplifting. Never anything big. Just enough to get in trouble. Even James wasn’t sure what he was trying to accomplish. It broke Loki’s heart hearing about it. When his Father found out he was cutting himself, stealing things, and even vandalizing public property, he sent him away.  
James never even got to say goodbye to Steve. He spent his thirteenth birthday alone in a boarding school. Loki made a vow to himself that his friend would never have to spend another birthday alone. James was at the boarding school for six and a half years, halfway around the country, alone. The brief times he was allowed home, he was still forbidden to see Steve, but by then the fight had been snuffed out of him. When he graduated, he started working on his tattoo sleeve, to cover up the scars that had riddled his arm. He claimed he wanted something beautiful to come out of such an ugly time in his life. It was beautiful. Letting him take a closer look, Loki could see some scars here and there. The artist did a beautiful job at hiding them in the ink.  
Loki took a good few minutes to look through the tattoos. The most noticeable one was a big red star on his shoulder. He stifled a smiling, realizing it matched the one on James’ hip perfectly, just bigger. He wondered if there was a story there. It was the most noticeable one, because it was red, whereas there wasn’t any red anywhere else. There were a lot of flowers, uncolored stars, swirls, animals, and even a small Jesus on a cross weaved into it. The best by far was a tiny, naked pinup girl on the inside of his arm, towards his armpit. She wasn’t colored in, and was surrounded by so much other, more distracting images that he only noticed her because James specifically pointed her out. He also noticed the metal aspects. The were set up as if his skin was ripping off to reveal a metal arm underneath. It was scattered here and there on his arm, across his knuckles, on his elbow, his shoulder blade, his forearm.  
Loki was so blown away. It really was amazing. James even pulled down his pajama bottoms and rolled up the leg of his boxers to show Loki the few tattoos there too. Clearly it wasn’t finished, because he could see the trail of scars headed further down. His breath caught in his throat. This poor boy. Loki was going to make sure to take extra care of James from now on.  
“And I haven’t seen Steve since. I didn’t even know he came here.” James said, wrapping up his story. Loki had so much to say, he couldn’t even get any of it out.  
“So you got so drunk because seeing him brought up a lot of memories?” Loki guessed. It was the only thing he could think of.  
“Partially. Not at first. We were having a great time just catching up. And then he went to the bathroom…” James’ expression turned sour. “And his friend tried giving me the ‘if you hurt him’ speech. Can you believe that?!”  
No. He couldn’t. What did that even mean? Although he had noticed the way Sam’s face changed when he looked at James. It was drastically different than the way he looked at Steve, or even Loki for that matter.  
“He threatened me, Loki. Can you believe that?” James’ calm demeanor of story telling was gone now. He had a mixed look of anger and disbelief on his face. “And went back to being decent as soon as Steve came back. As if nothing ever happened. So I started drinking. I just wanted a reason to go home. Maybe it wasn’t my best plan.”  
“No kidding.” Loki told him. “Next time you need a quick get away, tell them I need you. I’ll play along. I can think something up on the fly.”  
“Yeah ok. That’s better.” Then James put his head in his hands. “Steve wants to hang out tomorrow. Me, Him, and Sam. They’re room mates. I don’t know what to do. I cant just avoid Sam forever. But I really miss Steve.”  
“So suck it up. This Sam guy cant hate you forever, right?” Loki told him. He was so sure of it. In hindsight, he should’ve known better than to be so optimistic.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry guys. Theres some LokixTony coming. Its just slow. itll happen eventually, i promise

Loki was wrong, as usual. Sam hated James. So in turn, James hated Sam. And yet they were practically always hanging out because Steve had no idea. Neither of them would tell him how they felt about the other, so he just assumed the three of them were having a great time. Loki had only hung out with them one other time, and he wasn’t really sure how Steve didn’t see it. James and Sam were tense and snarky the whole time. It was exhausting just being around for an hour. He didn’t know how Steve could do it the whole time.  
So Loki couldn’t believe he had agreed to go out again with the trio. His only saving grace was that there would be a lot more people there and he could bring Natasha. It also helped that it was a karaoke event, and he absolutely loved making fun of people singing. This time, they made sure to coordinate a little better. Not the all black group that they had been before. Yet they all still looked remarkably good, if he did say so himself.  
Natasha had on another scandalous outfit, but Loki couldn’t really blame her. If he could wear a high-waisted red skirt and a black bra, which Natasha argued was actually a top not a bra, then he would. Correction, he knew he could wear anything he wanted, he just couldn’t wear that without dying of embarrassment. So instead he wore a simple green shirt. It wasn’t much, but it was one of his favorite shirts. It was appropriate for most occasions too.  
With James in a flattering grey short sleeved button up, they all looked great. James joked that they should both wear their hair up, but Loki had worked too hard at getting his hair to look perfect to just throw it up now. James on the other hand, always looked good in a messy bun. The perks of being eternally sexy. Loki wished he also had those perks.  
At the karaoke bar, he was surprised to see so many faces he recognized from campus. He knew for a fact, not all of them were twenty-one. He figured like him, a lot of these people were also sporting fake ID’s. Normally he would never use one, but he figured tonight would be too much fun to not show up, based on his age alone. He didn’t break rules often, but he also wasn’t opposed to doing it either.  
Loki’s night almost came to an abrupt end when he saw Thor sitting across the room with Steve and Sam. He hadn’t realized they knew each other, and he certainly hadn’t anticipated him being here too. But James begged and pleaded for him to stay and Natasha told him to stop being such a spoil sport.  
“The things I do for the too of you.” Loki said, shaking his head, letting them lead him to the table where his disgrace of a Brother sat. “You should be honored.”  
“Oh absolutely.” Natasha said.  
“You’re the best, really.” James added.  
“I know. But it wouldn’t hurt to hear it more often.” Loki didn’t even try and hide the way his face dropped as Thor’s lit up. Sure enough he wasn’t even at the table yet and Thor had already spotted him. It was like he had a special Loki radar. Every single time.  
“Brother!” Thor was so excited he almost tipped over his drink. Everyone at the table looked over. Loki hadn’t even made it to the table yet and Thor was already embarrassing him. He was going to try his hardest not to let this happy ball of stupidity ruin his night.  
“Brother?” Steve asked, shocked. They all sat down, James next to Steve, then Loki, and Natasha on his other side, making sure he wasn’t stuck any closer to Thor than he had to be. Loki knew from first hand experience that his Brother got touchy-feely when he drank. He always wanted hugs and deep heart to heart conversations. It was sickening.  
“Yes, Rogers. My Brother Loki. I did not know he would be here tonight. What a pleasant surprise!” Thor took a big sip of his beer. He was probably one of the only people here legally old enough to drink.  
“Wow Loki, I didn’t know this was your Brother! You guys are so different.” Steve didn’t say it as an insult, yet Loki couldn’t help but become defensive. All his life people compared him to Thor. He was so small compared to Thor. He was so quiet compared to Thor. He was so drab compared to Thor. When would people realize he was LOKI not THOR?  
“Indeed.” Loki started, not even sure of where the sentence was headed. Not somewhere pleasant presumably. Natasha, being the Saint she is, cut him off.  
“How do you know Thor?” Thor took a moment to stare at her, before giving Loki a wink of approval. It disgusted him. Of course Thor would think they’re together. Thor couldn’t befriend a girl if his life depended on it. Too much testosterone and pride flowed through his veins for that.  
“Football.” Thor blurted out. “Steve is the best team Captain I’ve ever had.”  
“Yeah lets hear it for Cap!” A man said, stumbling over to the table, two drinks in his hands. He took a seat next to a redheaded girl Loki hadn’t noticed before. Whereas Natasha’s hair was noticeable from a mile away, this girl was easy to look over. She was beautiful, yes, but in a more subtle way. The man, who Loki recognized as Thor’s roommate, plopped a drink in front of the girl and slid his arm around her waist. She blushed and sipped at her drink.  
“Tony, don’t call me that.” Steve said in a way that told Loki it wasn’t their first time having that conversation.  
“Fine… Mr. Rogers.” Anthony erupted into giggles. Clearly he was already tipsy. Had he been here longer, just drank faster, or did he drink before he got here? Loki didn’t particularly care.  
“Tony, no.” Steve said, placing his face in his hand, shaking his head.  
“Tony no.” Anthony said, throwing his arms in the air. “How come it’s never ‘Tony yes!’”  
“Never? I feel bad for your poor girl there.” It slipped out before Loki could stop it. Everyone laughed, even Anthony. When he recognized who said it, he practically whacked Thor on the arm.  
“Hey big Guy! Your little bro is here!” Every sentence ended on a loud, happy noted. Just how much had this guy drank? “Oh man, Loki, he talks about you alllllllllll the time.”  
Like a miracle, the lights went down, causing the perfect distraction. A spotlight flooded the stage and music slowly began to play. A girl stumbled into the center of the tiny stage holding a microphone.  
“Let the show begin.” He leaned in so only Natasha could hear him. Her smirk was almost as sly as his. There was nothing better than making fun of people.


	13. Chapter 13

Surprisingly, there was actually a fair amount of people who weren’t half bad. Especially since most of them had to get drunk enough to get the confidence to get up there and sing. Loki had even got himself a drink. Something pink and fruity, which got him a few odd looks from some of the men at the table, until Thor ordered himself something even more ridiculous looking. He may hate Thor, but occasionally it was nice that someone had his back no matter what. What surprised him was that Thor was sharing the drink with a girl next to him. Loki didn’t recognize her, but the two of them seemed pretty smitten and familiar. Why didn’t Thor mention her? How dare he.  
Natasha was the only one to notice his salty expression. She just gave him a squeeze on the knee, eyeing the mystery woman. Loki also had to keep an eye on James. Every time he had to actively play nice with Sam, he took a drink. Eventually Loki had to pinch his arm to try and get him to stop. Sure it was a Friday, neither of them had any lectures the next day, but Loki didn’t want a repeat of last time. Reluctantly James slowed down drastically.  
Singers came and went. Most of the songs Loki recognized, even if they were weak imitations of the originals. Eventually Thor and the mystery girl got up on stage. The song they picked was ‘Need You Now’ by Lady Antebellum. Loki felt a strange sort of anger flare up in his chest. It must’ve been because he liked the song. And Thor decided to sing it with some whore. He wasn’t too bad, but she was awful. Loki couldn’t figure out why everyone was telling her she was wonderful afterwards. They were all liars. Even Natasha. A Traitor.  
Anthony did a very awful, slurred version of “Dreamer’ by Ozzy Ozbourne. But he was having such a good time, even Loki couldn’t help but smile. It was most likely because he did the whole song with a drink in his hand, even missing lyrics because he was preoccupied sipping through the bendy straw he had requested with the last five drinks.  
Some girl at the table, who Loki thought they referred to her as Peggy got up and sang ‘Crazy’ by Patsy Cline. It was a bold choice. An old song, a young crowd. The craziest part was that she hadn’t had a drink all night. She was the best voice he had heard that night. It was impressive. The slow song even seemed to calm the crowd. Loki noticed the way Steve stared at her the whole time. Like he was looking at the answers to the Universe. He nudged James and pointed it out. James just smiled.  
Natasha joked around about Loki getting up to sing, but he was just mortified. He made fun of people, he didn’t want to be the one people made fun of. So she turned to James next. At first he refused. But after Sam made a quiet remark about him being chicken, James changed his attitude right around. He thought about it for a minute before getting up onto the stage.  
Loki recognized the beginning of the song immediately. It was one he often heard coming from James’ room. He knew it had a very wide range of vocals. He grabbed onto Natasha’s hand and squeezed, suddenly nervous. James went from a stumbling mess, into an almost professional stance in a split second. It threw Loki off guard.  
“Do I look Lonely?  
I see the shadows on my face  
People have told me I don’t look the same  
Maybe I lost weight  
I’m playing hooky with the best of the best  
Put my heart on my chest so you can see it, too  
I’m walking the long road, watching the sky fall  
The lace in your dress tingles my neck, how do I live?  
The death of a bachelor”

James broke out into the chorus, hitting all the right notes. He was completely floored. His voice was nearly spot on. Loki just watched him, amazed. James even broke out in a little dance. If James had such a strong singing voice, how had Loki never heard it before. Especially when he was so accurate with this song. James must’ve practiced it a lot.  
He made sure to sneak a peek at Sam’s face, pleased at the look of disbelief he saw on it. Hopefully James could see it from the stage. If not, he would make sure to tell James all about it. There was also something on Sam’s face that Loki wasn’t quite sure of. Maybe he was jealous?  
When James was done, the whole club erupted in cheers. How was anyone supposed to top that? No one could. When James came back to the table Steve slapped him on the back.  
“Bucky! When did you learn to do that?” Steve sounded as proud as Loki felt.  
“Natural talent.” Was the only thing James said. When he saw Sam’s face, he sent Loki a wink.  
Slowly the night winded down. Thor had took off first to walk ‘Jane’ back to her dorm. Peggy, Maria, and Darcy followed behind. Loki wasn’t sure who was who. They all were dark and broody. Either they were a mix of roommates, or had dorms close by, and wanted the protection of Thor walking them home safely. At least he was good for that. He even had the good sense to realize Loki was angry with him. Loki was sure he would get no less than a million texts about it in the morning.  
At some point Natasha wandered off. Loki noticed her talking to various different guys. He didn’t care, but he did make sure to keep an eye on her in case anyone tried anything. She gave Loki a small wave as she left with some guy, presumably not the same one from the other night. But that kind of thing didn’t bother him at all. In fact he was a little jealous. He wished he could be that carefree.  
“Tony, you’re unbelievable!” The red head screamed, breaking Loki out of his thoughts.  
“Come on, Pep!” The girl was fuming. Loki couldn’t help but think about what a terrible name ‘Pep’ was. What was it even short for? Pepsi? That was it. That was the only thing he could think of.  
“No. I’m Leaving.” She scanned the table, looking through the options of people to walk her home. A girl and guy stood up in unison. Loki figured they had been waiting for an opportunity to leave and this was the perfect way out.  
“Come on, Pepper. Clint’s walking me back now anyways.” The girl said, grabbing Pepper’s hand. All Loki could think of was how horrible her parents were for saddling her with a name like Pepper.  
“Thanks Laura.” Pepper said, and the three of them left. Anthony didn’t even try to fight it. He just sat there and finished up his drink. By now, the bar wouldn’t serve him anything else. He had apparently reached the cutoff point, although Loki thought he had reached that about a half hour ago.  
“Hey Tony, I think we should head back now.” Steve said in a soft voice. He just got a sort of ‘Bah!!!!’ noise in reply. But Loki took that as his cue to leave. The four of them stood up, waiting for Anthony. He just stared at them, out of it. Great. He had a hell of a time getting James to bed, and he was more coherent than Anthony was. At least there was four of them now. Even though it wasn’t his problem at all, he still felt the obligation to help.  
Steve and Sam each took one of Anthony’s arms and draped them over their shoulders. James walked ahead, clearing crowds and opening doors. Loki walked behind, carrying the jackets he had found on the back of chairs. He figured one belonged to either Sam or Steve. And the other one must belong to Anthony. Hopefully he could still help them with doing as little as possible.


	14. Chapter 14

Everything was going fine until they tried getting Anthony to walk up the stairs. The stairwell was too narrow for Sam and Steve to carry someone between them, so Steve took over alone. Sam and James followed behind, to catch Steve and Anthony if they tumbled backwards, which they almost did several times. That left Loki at the front, since he had a key. Of course they could’ve searched Anthony’s pockets for his dorm key, but Loki had a copy of Thor’s.  
He had refused the copy over and over again. Thor insisted, and so did Mother. While Thor wanted it as an open invitation to visit anytime, their Mother wanted it more as an extra safety measure. In case ‘anything’ ever happened. Loki couldn’t even begin to imagine what kind of horrors her mind was thinking up where Loki would need Thor’s key. Yet, it came in very handy now.  
“Tony, please work with me.” Steve pleaded for the fifth or sixth time that Loki could recall. It was as if Anthony was doing everything in his power to make their journey as difficult as possible.  
“I am! But you-” Whatever he had been about to say cut off, followed by several seconds of silence. Loki could tell he wasn’t the only one interested in why. But before he could turn around to peek, he felt a hand firmly grasp his left buttcheek.  
“I beg your pardon.” Loki scolded, turning around, finally reaching the floor Anthony resided on. As soon as he faced Anthony, the other mans face lit up.  
“Hey, It’s you!” Anthony looked at Steve, as if expecting him to be shocked also. Steve just looked confused and slightly embarrassed.  
“You boys can play grab-ass later.” James said, pushing his way past them. “Lets put him to bed before he tries it on anyone else.”  
Loki was offended…and slightly flustered. What had that been about. Clearly Anthony hadn’t realized who’s ass he had been trying to grab, but he did it anyways. Should Loki take it as a compliment? After all, it had left Anthony speechless. The thought almost made him laugh out loud, but he pushed it down. As far as anyone else should be concerned, he was mad about it. Steve and Anthony seemed to be fairly good friends, maybe he would tell him to keep his hands to himself.  
Opening the door, Loki frowned. It was as messy in here as it was in James’ room. And this was the whole dorm, not just a room. Loki noticed some of Thor’s possessions here and there, and also a lot of metal bits. Screws, nuts, bolts, tools, and whatnot littered practically every surface that Thor’s stuff wasn’t on. They must belong to Anthony. Loki knew Thor wasn’t skilled at building things like that. There was even what appeared to be a half built robot in the corner.  
Loki remembered being in here for their party and it hadn’t looked as messy as this. How they let it build up like this in just a few weeks, he didn’t know. Thor had always been a slob, and it looks like they paired him with the perfect roommate. Just as soon as Loki realized Thor wasn’t here, his thick-skulled Brother decided to walk in behind them.  
“Brother! Friends!” Thor’s face lit up. He couldn’t even have the decency to act upset that there was a group of people in his living space, uninvited.  
“Thor. I would’ve thought you’d still be with that lovely lady from before.” Loki said the word lovely with as much venom as Draco Malfoy would say the word mud blood. He didn’t know where that came from, but everyone except Anthony tensed up.  
“Steve, thank you for assisting Tony home. All of you, thank you. I can help him from here.” Thor picked Anthony up and threw him over his shoulder, causing the smaller man to let out a little yelp and big laugh. Everyone took that as their cue to leave and Loki tried following them, not wanting to hang around. Thor clearly had other ideas.  
“Stay, Brother.” Thor had never used that tone of voice with Loki before. He recognized it as the warning voice he used when telling people he didn’t want a fight, before knocking them on their ass. It was the voice Odin used on them when they were younger and in trouble. Loki knew he struck a nerve in Thor that he hadn’t ever before, no matter how many times he tried.  
Thor closed the door and gestured for Loki to sit on the couch. He didn’t. While Thor went to put Anthony in bed, Loki took the same precautions as he had with James. He couldn’t find a bottle of water, so he washed out a glass and filled it. Then he emptied out the waste basket in the bathroom. Why Thor and Anthony used so many Q-tips and razors, he had no idea. Just as Thor was closing the door to Anthony’s room, Loki put his foot out and stopped it. Thor gave him a quizzical look.  
“Thor your place is trashed enough without him throwing up everywhere.” Loki said, slightly agitated. Especially when he saw Thor had placed Anthony on his back. “And leave him on his stomach, not his back. If he vomits, he’ll choke on it and die.”  
At that, Thor seemed embarrassed. For someone who drank so much, he didn’t seem to know how to deal with someone else drinking. He just went to wait on the couch for Loki to come back. Loki may have been taller than Anthony, but the other man was thicker. Not fat. He was in fact in very good shape. It was just a little difficult flipping him over. After he finally had him on his belly, he noticed Anthony was awake, and confused.  
“Sleep on your stomach. I left a bucket here if you throw up. And there’s some water on the nightstand. Drink.” Of course Loki had to clear off a spot for the glass. Even his room was messy. He started walking away, when a hand reached up and grabbed his wrist.  
“Thanks, Loki.” Anthony said softly and with a smile. It was a different smile than he had seen plastered on the mans face all night. It seemed more genuine somehow. Though he couldn’t be sure, he didn’t know the man after all. Within seconds the grip on his wrist relaxed, Anthony had fallen back asleep.  
In the living room, Thor had a peculiar look on his face. Loki wasn’t sure how this conversation was going to go, but he wasn’t looking forward to it. Just the unfamiliar tone of Thor’s voice had left Loki shaken. Loki didn’t sit down, he just stood on the opposite side of the couch, not wanting to be closer to Thor than he had to be.  
“Thank you for that.” Thor nodded towards Anthony’s room.  
“Yes. Well, if I had left it to you, he would be dead by morning. Or worse. Covered entirely in vomit.” Loki told him. He could see the twinkle in Thor’s eyes, like he was holding back a laugh.  
“It is true. I’ve never had to deal with someone else drinking. I’m usually the one to pass out.” There was sadness in his voice. It made Loki uncomfortable, yet he wasn’t sure why. “You don’t know him. Yet you’re so kind. I see it with your friends, too. The red head and the tattoo man.”  
“Natasha and James. Bucky. That’s what they all call him. He’s not fond of being called James.” And to that Thor actually did laugh.  
“That’s the Loki I’m used to. Doing things regardless of others feelings. Or to me at least. But to all these people you’re so gentle.” Thor was quiet for a while. Loki wasn’t sure if he was waiting for a response. He didn’t even know what to say to that. “Why do you hate me, brother?”  
The sadness in Thor’s voice threw Loki off guard. Like a train hitting him full speed. It knocked the breath out of him. The rawness of the question let Loki see a side of Thor he had never seen before. Before Loki could speak, Thor continued.  
“We used to be so close. I don’t know what happened. I thought the world of you, Brother. I still do. Just tell me how to make things right.” Loki could see the tears threatening to fall down his face. It was too much, Loki didn’t know how to react. He didn’t know what to say. Thankfully Thor just kept talking, as if having the conversation by himself.  
“I tried being your friend. You hated it. I tried giving you space. And now you’re mad that I’ve found someone. How can I make you happy, Loki? I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about her. Her name is Jane Foster. She’s majoring in Astrophysics. She’s brilliant. I care for her greatly, I’d love for the two of you to meet.”  
It was like a punch in the gut. Thor had been trying to give him space. Trying to make him happy. And in the mean time Thor found someone special. In the past, Thor had dated many, man women. They all went crazy for him. This was different. Loki could see it on his face, hear it in his voice. This Jane Foster was very special to Thor. Yet he kept it to himself, trying to keep Loki happy. Emotions he hadn’t felt in a long time tore at his chest.  
“Well I guess that wouldn’t be such an awful meeting.” Loki told him, swallowing his pride and sitting next to his Brother on the couch. “She must be very smart to be an Astrophysicist. I cant imagine what she’d see in you.”  
Thor laughed at that and placed a hand on Loki’s shoulder. Maybe he had been a little to harsh on his Brother recently. This didn’t fix everything, but baby steps. A compliment to his girlfriend, but a playful insult to him. Loki would work on it. After all, Thor wasn’t the one he was truly mad at. But somehow in his hatred of Odin, Thor had received the brunt of most of his anger.  
“Me either, Brother. But I’m grateful she does.” With that they said their goodnights and Loki went back to his dorm feeling like a weight he didn’t even know existed had been lifted off his shoulders. He briefly wondered how long that would last, before shoving the thought down. It wouldn’t do him any good to dwell on that. He’d just enjoy the good moments as they came.


	15. Chapter 15

By the time Halloween finally came around, Loki was beyond ready. It was his favorite Holiday. He looked forward to it every day of the year, no matter how close or far away the date actually was. His family had moved to America while he was fairly young. While he didn’t remember too much from their time in England, he did notice the difference in the way the two countries celebrated Halloween. For him, the American way was the only way.  
The school board had decided to host its own Halloween event in the Ball Room. Loki figured it was an attempt to keep the under aged drinking to a minimum. He had no doubt the punch bowl would end up spiked before the night was through. It was a well meaning attempt on their part though.  
This time he and James would be picking Natasha up in front of the girls dormitory, since the party was closer to her than it was to them. The three of them had kept their costumes secret from each other, but Loki made them swear they would dress up too. He didn’t want to hang out with a bunch of squares on a marvelous night like this.  
Loki couldn’t help but feel just a little disappointed when he saw James’ costume. He had gone as some sort of modern day Vampire. His hair was slicked back and there was a blood smear from the corner of his mouth down onto his neck. Dressed in all black, he looked good, but it wasn’t the Halloween flair he had been hoping for. However James spent the next ten minutes in the bathroom, and when he came out Loki couldn’t help but grin. James had added two clip on fangs, red contacts, and just a touch of eyeliner. The costume was simple, but effective. Sexy and chilling.  
“Marvelous, James.” Loki told him, exaggeratingly eyeing him up and down.  
“Yeah and you look good, too…Lokitty.” Loki blushed at the name. In truth, he hadn’t made the connection in his head before hand, or he probably would’ve gone as something different. He was also clad in black. Skin tight leather pants and a v-neck t-shirt. Black cat ears sat on his head, while a tail dangled from the belt loop on his pants. He had used the eyeliner they borrowed from Natasha to draw a nose and whiskers on his face. Finally as a last though, he even added a thin black collar around his neck. He wasn’t normally so self absorbed, but he couldn’t help but feel like he looked good tonight. Really good.  
“I just hope our Natalia’s not dressed in black again, also. We really do it far too often. People will start to talk.” Loki said, following James out the door.  
“Talk about what? How sexy we are? Well its about time.” James laughed it off and jogged ahead a little. Clearly he was excited about tonight. It made Loki wonder how many times he got to celebrate Halloween in boarding school. The thought broke Loki’s heart. He was going to make sure James had a great time.  
Thankfully Natasha wasn’t in black. She had gone as a sexy chucky doll. It was mildly concerning, since Loki had always been uncomfortable around anything Chucky related. Now this sexy Chucky was giving him mixed feelings. Her red hair had been frizzed out. Her makeup was perfect. The Chucky suit was a very small dress, she had on thigh high socks, and dangerously high red heels. Sexy, scary. The perfect look for Natasha.  
“Wow.” James just stared.  
“Oh look. It’s Lokitty and a Sucky Bucky.” Natasha said, smiling like the devil. Loki didn’t even have time to be embarrassed at what she called him because he was too busy laughing at what she had called James. He wished he though of it first. James on the other hand didn’t look pleased.  
“Funny, Doll.” James pouted.  
“Now now, James. She’s just pointing out the obvious.” Loki said innocently, linking his arm with Natasha. It had become their signature walk. Occasionally James would attach himself to her other side. Right now he was standing a foot away looking hurt. Loki could tell it was fake.  
“Alright, boys. We all look hot, mostly me though, so lets go blow this party up.” Natasha grabbed onto James and pulled him along. Normally Loki hated parties. Yet he could tell this one was going to be great.


	16. Chapter 16

Everyone that Loki could see was dressed up. That made him happy. Why go to a Halloween party if you weren’t going to dress for the occasion? Some stand out costumes he noticed in the crowd were a group of Disney Princesses, a two person horse costume, and a very sexy couple dressed as pirates. From the crowd around the punch bowl, Loki figured it had already been spiked, and everyone was trying to get some before a Professor found out. Maybe he would have some of it, too. Maybe.  
To one side of the Ball Room, there were tables set up. A fair amount of people were sat down eating the snacks that had been provided. Towards the other side there was a mass of dancing, writhing, sweaty bodies. The school had even provided flashy lights and a DJ. It was pretty impressive, though Loki doubted he would make his way onto the dance floor. Natasha spotted two people sitting at a table and lead them over there. Loki’s best guess was that the couple was supposed to be Robin Hood and Maid Marian. They looked good, but Loki thought they would’ve looked better if they’d gone as the Disney fox versions.  
“Laura. This is Loki and Bucky.” Natasha gestured to each man respectively. “Guys this is my room mate Laura and her boyfriend Clint.”  
The man smiled up at them with a mouth full of food. Charming. Then Loki remembered the party he had attended with Natasha two months before. She had been trying to sleep with her roommates ‘almost’- boyfriend to see if he would remain faithful. And he had. It was surprising that as many times as he’d gone to see Natasha he had never met Laura before. Regardless, he was happy things had worked out with her and Clint.  
Just as they sat down, Loki looked over and saw Steve and Sam headed their way. Steve was dressed as a soldier. Somehow it suited him. Sam on the other hand was dressed as a firefighter. No, he was dressed as a sexy firefighter. The most realistic aspects of the costume was the suspenders and boots. A skin tight white shirt showed off muscles underneath. Even his pants were too tight. It was delicious. Sam had never really been his type, not because of the color of his skin, but just the pure athleticism sort of turned him off. However he had a hard time tearing his eyes away.  
“Wow.” Loki said. “Looks like Sam came dressed as a work of art.”  
“Nice.” Natasha voice was unusually sultry. James rolled his eyes, turning to look at Steve and Sam. Loki noticed the way his back tensed and couldn’t help but wonder why. Apparently Natasha noticed too by the curious look she was giving James.  
“Hey guys.” Steve saluted them, just as a Soldier would.  
“At ease, Soldier.” Clint said, again with a mouth full of food. They sat down across the table. Loki noticed how James was staring at Sam, as if he couldn’t tear his eyes off him. The sudden realization hit him like a ton of bricks and he couldn’t help but smile. Oh poor James, being attracted to a man he hated so dearly. Had James even realized it before, or was he as blown away with Sam’s costume as Loki was?  
“You guys look great.” James told the two men. Loki noticed how he wiped his palms on his pants. Most likely drying the sweat from them.  
“Wish I could say the same about you.” Sam told him, looking unenthused.  
“Yeah I guess I do look kinda silly.” James blushed. The only person who seemed more confused than Sam was Steve. James and Sam never agreed on anything. And that was clearly an insult. “Haven’t done the whole Halloween thing in a while. This was the best I could do on short notice. Loki made me promise to dress up.”  
Loki could tell James was babbling. It threw Sam off guard. Natasha was desperately trying to hide a smile. Steve looked shocked. Laura and Clint just silently observed. Loki wondered if he should watch how this was going to unfold, or if he should change the subject before James embarrassed himself.  
“Well.” Sam struggled for words. “The eyes look cool. Red’s nice.”  
“Brother!” He heard Thor before he saw him, as usual. Hands slapped his shoulders, squeezing tight enough to hurt. Thor must’ve been drinking. Loki looked behind him and couldn’t help but laugh. Standing above him was the picture perfect Viking.  
It ran in their blood. They had come from a long line of Scandinavian ancestors, most of which had been Norse. With long blond hair and a fairly decent sized beard, Thor had the natural looks of a Viking. Along with the costume, he truly looked like a warrior. Jane was also dressed in Viking clothes. She looked good, not great. He wondered who’s idea it was for matching outfits, Thor or Jane.  
Behind them were Anthony and Pepper, who had also picked matching costumes. A Mobster and a Flapper. Pepper wore a beautiful blue dress with a black feather boa. Anthony had on the traditional pinstripe suit with a new, not so traditional goatee. Nonetheless, it looked good. Really good.  
The new additions pulled over chairs to sit down at the table. Everyone was talking except Loki and James. Loki studied James, while James switched between looking at Sam and looking at the table. Finally he got up and headed for the punch bowl. Loki followed close behind him, hoping to talk to his friend while the two of them were alone.  
“So.” Loki said, unsure of what exactly to say. “How’s the punch?”  
“Not bad.” James replied, even though he hadn’t tried it yet. He just held the cup and stared into it like it held the answers to the universe. His voice was quieter than usual. “I can smell the vodka from here.”  
“Get it while it lasts.” Loki took his own advice and grabbed a cup. He didn’t normally drink, but it was Halloween and he was planning on having a good time, even if there was a ton of people there. Maybe the alcohol would help him relax a little.  
“Yeah.” James opened his mouth to say something, and then stopped, waited a second and then did the same thing again. Finally he decided on downing his entire drink all at once, then grabbing another. He stared at Loki, as if reading his mind. “Let’s talk about it some other time, ok?”  
“Alright, Darling.” Then he grabbed his friend by the arm and dragged him back to Natasha. Loki didn’t dance, but she would. “Lets go have a wonderful night.”


	17. Chapter 17

Somehow one cup led to two, which led to three, and Loki was feeling it. Even though he and Thor had been trying to work on their relationship, Loki still found it difficult to be around him for long periods of time. However right now, he was practically clung to his Brother’s side. Thor just kept talking and talking about anything and everything, and Loki was actually listening to every single word he said. It was something they hadn’t done in years. He even listened to Jane drone on about astrophysics, which he found absolutely fascinating, until she dragged Thor out onto the dance floor. Loki was sad to see his Brother go, but happy to see him with Jane. Not that he would admit it to Thor, or even to himself later when he was sober.  
He didn’t know who kept adding liquor to the drinks or how they had snuck so much in, but it seemed to be in nearly endless supply. James had more than Loki, and was finally smiling and joking around. That was until Sam decided to peel off his tight white shirt and head out onto the dance floor, causing several girls to squeal. James just stared for a second before finishing off his drink.  
“Tasha!” He held out his hand to her, helping her from her seat. “Wanna dance?”  
“Bring it on, big boy.” Her voice was sexy, her clothes were sexy. Yet the image of Chucky was disturbing enough to make him cringe.  
For a while Loki sat alone. Luckily he had spent enough alone time in his life not to mind it. He was just enjoying seeing all the costumes. Skeletons, zombies, and a whole slew of slutty versions of every costume imaginable filled the room. Why couldn’t Halloween costumes be a normal every day thing?  
“Don’t dance?” A voice rung out next to him. It took Loki a second to realize Anthony had slid into the chair next to him. His black fedora sat tilted on his head and his tie had been loosened with the first button of his shirt undone. Loki just sat there, taking in his disheveled appearance. “Earth to Loki?”  
“Hm? Oh. No.” He blamed his late response on the alcohol. “Far too many people in such close proximity. Look at them. They dance as a group rather than pairs.”  
“That’s part of the fun. Start off with one person, and make your way through all of them once she leaves.” Anthony took a long sip out of his cup, looking unfazed.  
“Sorry to hear that.” Loki wondered what had happened, but as his eyes scanned the crowd, he couldn’t spot Pepper anywhere.  
“It happens. Isn’t even the first time she’s done this.” Anthony’s bland, unbothered mood shifted into a smile. “But now I get to hang out with this lovely Kitty.”  
“I am lovely, aren’t I?” He threw all the confidence he could muster into those words, while on the inside his body was going into overdrive. He simultaneously felt his heart stop and beat a million miles an hour. Hopefully the other man didn’t notice the blush Loki could feel creeping across his cheeks. Loki didn’t know what context Anthony had mean the word ‘lovely’. He didn’t want to read too much into it, but his brain had other ideas.  
“Tall, dark, brooding. What’s not to like? The way Thor talks, you‘d think you were a God.”  
“Well of course I am.” Without thinking, Loki winked. He would’ve been embarrassed if not for the look of pure delight on Anthony’s face.  
“Loki, God of Cats. Its got a nice ring to it.”  
“Indeed.”  
Loki’s heart was racing now. He knew he had already had more than enough to drink, so he just swirled the cup instead, making the liquid slosh around. He figured that was better than fidgeting whatever he could find. Loki was nervous, and he wasn’t even sure he had good reason to be. Was Anthony flirting with him, or just being friendly? They had seen a good deal of each other lately due to Thor, maybe he was just trying to befriend his roommates Brother.  
He had only seen Anthony with women. Lots and lots of women. But Loki knew sexuality wasn’t always as black and white as that. Which sometimes let him see the gay in people, even if it wasn’t always there. He had been trying to remain neutral. Maybe it was the stylish new goatee, or the cute disheveled appearance, or the flirty smiles being sent his way. Or maybe it was the alcohol. He could blame it on the alcohol, right?  
Loki felt himself lean in closer to the other man. He was pleased to see the way Anthony’s body did the same. They were so close, Loki could feel the heat rolling off in waves from Anthony. He could smell the mans cologne. It made him shiver.  
“I gotta say,” Anthony let a hand reach up towards the collar on Loki’s neck. It trailed along, brushing the soft flesh underneath. Loki held in a moan, though he couldn’t stop the breathy sigh that escaped his lips. “This was a nice touch.”  
Anthony’s fingertips were like electricity, it made Loki shudder. To think he had almost chickened out of wearing the collar. He praised past-Loki for wearing it regardless of all the negative comments he had imagined receiving. If he had known he’d get this kind of attention, he would’ve worn a collar sooner.  
“Are you always this white? Or is it all the black?” The fingers trailed up to brush a strand of hair behind Loki’s ear. It took all he had not to lean into the hand that rested there. “It’s a nice color on you.”  
“Well Thor got the muscles, I got the perfect porcelain skin. Its al in the genes.”  
“In your genes. A G or a J makes all the difference in the world. But I know which one I’d rather be in.”  
Before Loki even had the chance to react to Anthony saying he wanted to be in Loki’s Jeans, the two of them jumped apart at the sound of Thor’s voice approaching. Loki had been angry at Thor many times in the past, but this had to be the worst. He swirled around to yell at his Brother, but stopped when he saw the worry on his face.  
“Loki, Tony, we must go. I heard the police are on the way. There’s been a big fight, they need to break this party up.” Thor said, not seeming to notice what had been going on seconds before.  
“And we’re drunk and under aged.” Loki added to his statement, hoping out of his seat. Of course the one time he gets drunk the cops would show up.


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys sorry for this. Ive been working on it for like 3 days. It was shit then and its still shit now, but its the best i can do for the time being.

They weren’t the only ones headed for the door. He saw all the familiar faces he had been with earlier, along with a few handfuls of people he didn’t know. Unfortunately for everyone else there, they either didn’t know or didn’t care enough to take off. Maybe they figured no one would get in trouble if they claimed they didn’t know about the alcohol. While that might be true, Loki wasn’t going to take that chance.  
The girls group broke off one way to head to their dorm while the boys when the other. Loki made sure he saw Natasha and Jane. He even caught a glimpse of Laura. It was comforting knowing none of them would get in trouble. He pushed his way through the crowd of people to get to James, who was fairly easy to point out due to his height. Linking his arm with the other man the way he often did with Natasha, Loki leaned in to ask him a question when the scent of alcohol caught his nose.  
“James did you drink the whole bottle?” Loki asked, trying to steady the wobbling man. He hadn’t seen his friend drink that much.  
“I got it straight from the source.” James told him with a proud grin. So he knew who had been sneaking it in. Maybe Loki would ask him about it later. “I needed a confidence boost. I’m going to kiss him.”  
“You’ll do no such thing.” Loki was shocked and appalled, and sadly a little amused. “How about you talk to Sam tomorrow when the two of you aren’t drunk.”  
“But Loki.” He could see the hurt on James’ face. “I gotta kiss him.”  
“I understand, Darling. But he left a while ago. He’s probably already asleep by now. You can see him in the morning.” Loki lied. Sam walked just a few people ahead of them next to Steve. James didn’t seem to notice, but Loki slowed their walking to let Sam get ahead just in case. He didn’t want James to get rejected like this. Or worse, he didn’t want Sam to start throwing punches.  
“But he wont be dressed up in the morning.” The pout on his face was absolutely adorable. They would definitely be discussing this in the morning. By the time they got to their dorm, Anthony was no where in sight. Loki was disappointed. So disappointed that he even considered going to see Thor in hopes of being around Anthony. But that would just be awkward all around.  
He managed to coerce James into removing the red eye contacts and taking off his tight jeans before he put him to bad. Thankfully his room was drastically cleaner than the last time. He put out water and a trash can like before, and even gave him another ‘Goodnight, Bucky.’ While he didn’t mind doing it, he really hoped it wouldn’t become routine. He didn’t mind James drinking in moderation, he just worried for the poor liver that was getting destroyed in the process.  
Loki was still on an adrenaline high from his interaction with Anthony. The more he thought about it, the more flustered he became. It was impossible to relax. He felt blood rush into his cock, making it rise slowly. Reluctantly he headed for his room, locking the door behind him just in case.  
Peeling off the layers of black, he decided to leave the collar on. After all, that was the thing Anthony had been so interested in. Loki traced his fingertips up and down his body, caressing smooth soft skin. As he closed his eyes he imagined it was Anthony touching him. A dribble of precum leaked onto his stomach which he used to wet the tip of his dick, swirling his thumb over it. Images of Anthony in compromising positions played in his head. He’d kill to get that boy naked right about now.  
Loki stroked himself faster, remembering the feel of fingers tracing the collar on his neck, the rugged scent of cologne, the flirty smile Anthony so willingly flashed at him time and time again. He thought of about a million different scenarios, each one stranger and kinkier than the last.  
A gasp escaped his lips as thick ropes of cum spurted across his stomach. For two seconds, Loki felt better than he had in a while. Then the embarrassment set in. It had all happened so fast, much faster than it usually took him. Was that because of the alcohol or because of Anthony?  
Whatever the case, he did feel more relaxed, but he knew he’d be playing those images over and over again in his head for a while, especially the next time he saw Anthony.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Someone should defffff draw a tatted up Bucky for this.


	19. Chapter 19

Much to Loki’s disappointment, he hadn’t seen Anthony in nearly a week. He didn’t have the courage to go knocking on his door, even under the guise of seeing his Brother, and he didn’t see him around campus either. It just made him yearn for the man more, which wasn’t a feeling Loki liked at all. Every small dark haired man made his heart flutter, until Loki realized it wasn’t Anthony. It was positively dreadful.  
Even worse was trying to deal with James. The day after the Halloween party had gone pretty much the same as the last time James had for too much to drink. Only this time he was feeling embarrassed and angry with himself. At first he refused to talk to Loki about it, but then it became too much. It turned out James only remembered bits and pieces of the night before and finally caved in to ask Loki to fill in the rest.  
He was absolutely mortified to hear how he had been acting towards Sam. James wouldn’t even believe Loki at first. He thought he was lying, or trying to pull some sort of horrible prank. However the next day James came back to the dorm and nearly threw a fit, telling Loki how he saw Sam and still had the same feelings he had at the Party. For whatever reason James wasn’t taking it well at all, but he wouldn’t open up to Loki about it any further.  
The day after that, Loki had caught James outside with a cigarette. Apparently it was a bad habit he picked up a long time ago, but quit. Loki figured it was the stress he was under about Sam. Though he couldn’t imagine what all the fuss was about. He guessed people just handled things differently. And while he didn’t agree with James’ new outlet for that stress, he knew he wouldn’t accomplish anything by trying to take it away before James was ready.  
So that’s how he found himself leaning against a wall behind a building with James. The man had some sort of menthol cigarette that he clung to like a life line. Loki hated the smell, but liked making sure James only had one every few hours. They weren’t good for him in general, but he figured the best he could do for his friend was try to limit his intake. Lately James had lost a few pounds and looked just a tad more pale. It was worrying him.  
Loki hadn’t yet told James about Anthony. He hadn’t told anyone, not even Natasha. Though he knew she suspected something. Originally he planned on discussing it with them, but he had been so focused on helping James through his ‘problem’ that he didn’t want James to have to worry about Loki’s own issue. Then the longer he waited, the more embarrassed he became. Anthony hadn’t tried reaching out to him at all. Maybe it had just been the alcohol and Loki was reading into it too much.  
James had been in the middle of a rant about one of his Professors, when something else caught Loki’s attention. From where they stood, leaned up against the wall, most of the courtyard was visible. Walking hand in hand a few yards away was Anthony and Pepper. Neither of them had noticed Loki or James yet. Loki’s heart felt like it was being ripped from his chest.  
Of course he had seen emotions in Anthony that hadn’t really been there. Clearly he was so desperate for affection that he had assumed Anthony would want him. It was pathetic really. Who would want someone like Loki? No one, clearly. Definitely not someone as good looking as Anthony. Anthony could have any girl he wanted, so why would he want Loki? He was a fool to think that it would happen that way.  
Tears prickled at his eyes, but he refused to cry. It wasn’t the first time he had been rejected and he was sure it wouldn’t be the last. And he wouldn’t shed tears over something he couldn’t change. He just felt like an idiot for thinking Anthony had wanted him. He wouldn’t make that mistake again. It was just a week of his life wasted pinning over a man he couldn’t have.  
Anthony looked over and locked eyes with Loki, and unreadable expression on his face. Loki just made a disgusted face before grabbing James and dragging him away. James followed wordlessly, looking around for something that would make them leave their spot so soon. Loki didn’t look back, he couldn’t.


	20. Chapter 20

Everyone seemed to notice the change in Loki, especially Natasha. At first she was gentle, asking nicely what was wrong with him. Then she tried prying. When those didn’t work and she had finally had enough, she snapped at him, demanding to know why he was acting the way he was acting.  
“I haven’t got a clue to what you’re on about.” Loki told her coldly, wishing she’d just leave it alone.  
“Bullshit.” She wouldn’t take no for an answer. She was so persistent, it was one of the reasons Loki loved her. Though now he hated it. “Don’t pretend like you havent been acting strange.”  
“Strange? How am I supposed to know how I’m acting different if you don’t even know how I’m acting different.” Loki saw the way her body tensed, and he knew he took it too far. She was getting too riled up. It wouldn’t be good for him. Even James looked away, like he knew something bad was coming. He just puffed on his cigarette, looking anywhere but at Loki.  
“I wasn’t going to say it, but since you want to act like a child, I’ll have to talk to you like a child. You’ve been acting like a stuck up snob and I’m sick and tired of it.”  
Loki felt as if the air had been punched right out of his lungs. He could see James shuffling uncomfortably out of the corner of his eye. Clearly they had both felt that way, but Natasha was the only one brave enough to say something. It was like a slap to the face. He didn’t think he had been behaving that badly. But looking back on it, he realized he had been acting differently for the past two weeks. Guilt weld up inside of him.  
Because of Anthony, he had been treating his friends badly. He had even been ignoring Thor completely, which he knew he’d have to apologize for. He had gotten so caught up in his own self pity that he was tearing his own life apart. It was his own self destructive behavior that chased people away. He’d been doing it for years and it was time to stop. Natasha was the only person to call him out on it besides Mother. The two were so similar sometimes that it hurt.  
“Darling, you knew I was a snob when you met me.” Loki tried for a joking tone. Luckily Natasha picked up on it.  
“Yeah to these common folk. Not to me.” She grinned as she gestured to everyone standing in the courtyard.  
“What am I, chopped Liver?” James chimed in, looking slightly more relaxed than he had before.  
“Of course not, James Dear.” Then he paused for a bit, deciding how he wanted to approach the subject of Anthony. It had been three weeks since the party and still he hadn’t mentioned anything about it to James or Natasha. It wasn’t easy for him to let others see him weak and vulnerable.  
Through the whole story they were silent. He had told them everything from his point of view, all the details. Of course he left out the masturbation part, though hee could see it in their eyes that they just assumed it anyways. He loved his beautiful, perverted friends. Then he told them about how none of it mattered because Anthony was back with Pepper, and maybe he had just read too much into the other mans actions.  
“You want me to hurt him for you?” Natasha looked dead serious. “People can’t just go around toying with your emotions. It’s not right.”  
“Darling, don’t get in trouble for me. My ego isn’t worth it.” Loki appreciated the devoutness of her offer. He’d never let her do it, but it was the though that counts.  
“Please. I never get caught.” The seriousness of her face revealed that there was a story there Loki was dying to ask about. However he was distracted by James.  
James still leaned against the wall, looking intently at the cigarette in his hand. Loki could see the gears turning in his head, as if having a full-blown conversation with him. What on earth could that be about?  
“James?” Loki asked softly when he saw the mans eyebrows crease.  
“I think I need to go for a walk.” James told them, not making eye contact with either of them as he walked off.  
“What on earth was that about?” A wave of concern washed over Loki. Was James mad at him? He didn’t look particularly mad when he walked off, just confused. So he sent him a quick text, just in case.  
‘Hope I didn’t upset you…’  
Just as he expected, no reply came. It worried him greatly, but since he couldn’t come up with any theories, he just went back to the dorm and waited for James there. Whatever it was, he’d work through it. Maybe James would finally tell him what his problem had been.


	21. Chapter 21

After a few hours Natasha left. She promised to look out for James on the way and send him home if she found him. She texted Loki once she got back to her dorm letting him know she hadn’t run into James on the way. Loki was reluctant to send James another text. If he wanted to talk, he would’ve replied. Clearly he had things to work out on his own. So Loki waited.  
Eventually the door opened, revealing James. It was clear he had recently been crying, but Loki knew better than to bring that up. Despite the tears, he didn’t look all that sad. Instead he looked relieved. For a few second James just stood there staring at Loki before rushing across the living room and pulling him into a hug.  
Relief washed over Loki. He had worked himself into thinking James was mad at him for some reason, so the hug was extra comforting. He also hadn’t seen James that happy in about three weeks, so it was nice to see such a wonderful smile plastered across his friends face.  
“Loki I did it.” James told him, sitting down next to Loki on the couch. “I talked to Sam!”  
“Marvelous!” It caught him by surprise, but he was happy nonetheless. Loki had been waiting three weeks for James to talk to Sam. “How did it go?”  
“Bad at first. Steve wasn’t there, so he was going to tell me to find him somewhere else, but then I kinda just blurted out that I was there to ask him on a date,” James paused, reliving the memory. “And you should’ve seen the look on his face. But he said YES. Can you believe it?”  
“Of course I can. Who wouldn’t say yes to you?” Loki meant it with all his heart. While he didn’t condone the violence Natasha threatened on Anthony, there was no doubt in his mind that he would’ve gone after Sam for James if he needed too. Even if it was a fight he might lose. “Is that why you took off so suddenly?”  
He could see the blush grow across James’ face. James explained to him what had been going on the last few weeks. Growing up, he had certain feelings for Steve. When his Father found out, he was furious. It was one of the reasons he didn’t want James hanging out with Steve anymore. His Father was one of those extreme religious people that believed a man should be with a woman, not another man. Sending James to an all boy boarding school didn’t help with that at all though. It just helped James experiment with other boys. Apparently he had gotten into a lot of trouble several times.  
They drilled it into his head that men should be with women, and while James still liked other men, he kept it hidden deep down. For his won safety. As the years went by, his feelings for Steve faded, as childhood crushes do. But being here, James didn’t know if he would be accepted or not. The thought was half ridiculous, half heart wrenching to Loki.   
How could James not think Loki would be accepting of everything, let alone something as small as liking other men? But he understood staying in the closet out of necessity. Loki’s family didn’t know he liked men along with women. He figured maybe his Mother suspected, but she never said anything, and neither did he. They would find out the day he was brave enough to bring a boy home for dinner.  
So for weeks James just tried to keep everything in, worried about what his new roommate might think. Worried what Steve would think. They were his two best friems, and he didn’t want to do anything to compromise that. But what Loki told him about his feelings for Anthony, it made James think. So he wandered off, somehow landing in front of Steve and Sam’s dorm. He hadn’t talked to Steve yet, but he was just so happy about Sam that he was going to worry about that conversation later.  
“So what are you two doing for a date?” Loki asked, as happy for James as he would be for himself.  
“Oh.” The smile fell from James’ face, only slightly. “ I don’t know. I didn’t even think about it. I guess I got caught up in the moment. I have until Friday though. How hard can it be?”


	22. Chapter 22

Apparently James was awful at planning dates, since he’s never had to before. With a little help from Loki and Natasha, things went smoothly. James came home that night, happier than ever. It made Loki so happy that he hated himself for the little pang of jealousy that crept up on him. He tried pushing it out of his head, but it only grew the more he watched James and Sam.  
He was happy for his friend, really he was. Loki loved the new spring in James’ step that hadn’t been there before. He loved hearing James spew on about Sam like some sort of love sick puppy. It made him happy when he caught the two of them sneaking kisses when they thought no one was watching. But he couldn’t help the jealousy welling inside of him. Day after day, it ate away at him.  
For as long as Loki could remember, Loki wanted the same thing James and Sam had. Happiness. He had wanted it so bad that he had misread Anthony’s actions in a desperate attempt to have someone to himself. Loki wouldn’t let it happen again. There had to be someone out there for him. Right? That was the way things were supposed to work. So he tried being positive about it. Some days were easier than others.  
Thanksgiving Weekend snuck up on him and he was dreading going home. They left on Wednesday and didn’t have to be back on campus until the following Monday. Not only would he have to deal with their Father, but Thor was also inviting Jane to Thanksgiving Dinner. Either that would keep Odin happy and off Loki’s back for the day, or it would send him into a rant about Loki not finding the perfect woman again. Deep down he knew it would be the latter.  
It was a conversation he had heard many times before after Odin had caught a very young Loki kissing a neighborhood boy. They moved soon after that, and Odin had been spouting on about Women to Loki ever since. As far as Loki knew, Mother and Thor never found out about what happened. Would they treat him any different if they knew? Mother probably wouldn’t, Loki knew that deep inside his soul. She would love him no matter what, the way a Mother should. Thor he wasn’t so sure about, and frankly he didn’t want to find out anytime soon.  
The long drive home was quiet. Too quiet. Loki couldn’t find it in himself to make small talk. He was too busy dreading seeing Odin. Truthfully, he was also a little mad at Thor for inviting Jane. He couldn’t be mad at Jane for coming though, the two of them had a fairly decent relationship. It mostly consisted of trashing Thor and spewing scientific facts to each other.  
Eventually Loki noticed that Thor also wasn’t trying to break the silence either. It was odd because he hadn’t ever seen his Brother stay quiet for so long. He wondered if something was wrong, but pushed it out of his mind. Thor would tell him if it was important. Or so Loki thought, because they spent the next hour in silence. Finally Loki had enough.  
“Thor what’s wrong?” Loki asked in his most unenthusiastic voice. Of course he cared about Thor’s feelings, he just didn’t want Thor knowing that.  
“Hm?” Thor asked as if he didn’t hear him.  
“You’ve hardly said a word since we left. Its been nearly two hours. If I have to spend the next hour in silence, I might actually want to talk to Father when we arrive.” It wasn’t the truth, but he figured that would make Thor talk.  
“Well I’m sure he’d be grateful for the conversation, Brother.” It bothered Loki that Thor genuinely seemed to believe that. Odin could care less about what Loki was doing, as long as it didn’t embarrass the family. And he was fairly certain wearing Kitty collars and flirting with Boys was something Odin would consider to be a family embarrassment.  
“Doubtful.” There was no point in arguing it with Thor. He never seemed to understand Loki just didn’t have the same type of loving, Father-Son relationship with Odin that he had. “But don’t avoid the question. What’s on your mind?”  
“I didn’t want to trouble you.” Which was a first for Loki. It made about a million scenarios pop up in his head. “It’s just my room mate, Tony.”  
“Oh.” Loki tried sounding uninterested, but he couldn’t help but feel a mixture of happy and sad at the mention of Anthony. “How is he by the way? Last I saw him was when he had been too drunk to even put himself to bed.”  
“After that he was fine. He bounces back from alcohol in ways I hadn’t thought possible. I’ve never seen him with a hangover. It’s amazing.” Thor paused for a minute as if choosing his words carefully. “But He and Pepper broke up again, and he’s not taking it well this time.”  
“What a shame.” Loki said sarcastically, ignoring the sideways glare from his Brother. Maybe if Anthony hadn’t toyed with his emotions, he’d feel some sort of sympathy for the man.  
“Please don’t act that way when he comes over Thursday.” It had been said so quietly Loki wasn’t sure if he had heard it correct.  
“When he what?”  
“Please don’t be mad, Brother. I talked to Mother and Father and Jane already. Tony has no family to see on Thanksgiving. Without Pepper, he has no where to go. He didn’t want to come in the first place, but I talked him into it. He’s still my roommate, could you try to get along with him?”  
He wasn’t sure what he had done to make Thor think he hated Anthony, when the exact opposite was true. As much as he had tried to push the man out of his head, he had developed an undeniable crush. The fact that Anthony liked to toy with that emotion meant Loki was in for a Hell of a Thanksgiving.


	23. Chapter 23

Loki wondered why he was stupid enough to think Odin might get off his back for the weekend. Clearly not having Loki around all the time didn’t make Odin miss him enough to play nice. Instead it was as if he had been building up all the insults and nitpicking, and needed to release them before Loki left on Sunday. So far he had passive aggressively insulted Loki’s hair, clothes, and complexion, while also implying that Loki’s grades were bad enough to get him kicked out soon.  
Loki was sure he wasn’t going to make it the long weekend without one of them ending up in jail. The thought of strangling Odin in his sleep had never been so prominent in his mind. Luckily Mother had more than enough love to give him to sooth the homicidal thoughts invading his mind.  
The rest of the day Wednesday, Thor and Odin spent happily reconnecting in the living room. Loki didn’t dare step foot in there, in attempt to avoid Odin’s judgmental comments. Instead, he helped their Mother do all the pre-Thanksgiving food prep. It had become their own little tradition.  
Loki told her all his Mother-appropriate stories that had happened while he was away. She asked some questions here and there, but mostly let him talk himself out. It was nice. Every word she said was encouraging. She even expressed an interest in meeting Natasha and James.  
By the time it was dark out, they had finished up everything they needed to do for Thanksgiving before the actual day arrived. They had been so busy working and talking that Loki hadn’t had time to worry about Anthony. But as he got ready for bed, that was the only thing on his mind. His emotions were being torn and it was making him anxious.  
On one hand Anthony had probably been flirting him before because he was drunk and sad about being dumped. He hadn’t made any attempt to talk to Loki after that, and he had even got back together with Pepper. All signs pointed to him not being interested, which meant the smart thing for Loki to do was to just forget about Anthony.  
But the memory of the electricity that had flew through his body when Anthony touched his neck was making it very hard for Loki to do the smart thing in this situation. For weeks he had tried pushing Anthony out of his mind and it hadn’t worked. Now he was going to be in a nearly similar situation with the same man. At least there wouldn’t be alcohol thrown into the mix. That was the only upside.  
Falling asleep was nearly impossible with the internal argument Loki had found himself in. However once he finally managed to sleep, his dreams were filled with Anthony. All of them were lewd, and Loki had to take a shower in the morning when he woke up just to wash the cum from his wet dream off himself.  
He dug through his clothes trying to find something nice to wear. Loki had desperately hoped he could play it off cool and not care that Anthony was going to be there, but that went out the window when he realized he was subconsciously trying to dress up for him. At least now that he realized it, he could put a little extra effort into looking his best. Unfortunately nothing he had seemed to be just right. He settled on one of his many green sweaters. Mainly because he looked good in it and it was extremely comfortable. Also because it was definitely considered more Christmassy than Thanksgiving, and he knew it would make Odin angry. It was perfect all around.  
The rest of the morning was spent in the kitchen helping his Mother with the cooking. To him, that was the best part of any Holiday. Helping Mother made him feel great, but he could also slap Thor around for trying to sneak bites of food. What wasn’t to love?  
When Jane showed up, everyone practically fell head over heels. Mother was pleased with her mind and manners. Odin was probably more happy for Thor because of the way Jane looked. Loki had the utmost respect for his own Mother, she was smart and funny and amazing and sweet. But he also figured Odin had been more interested in her looks than all the things Loki admired her for.  
When the doorbell rang the second time, everyone else seemed to be too busy to answer. Loki felt a small wave of nausea and panic wash over him as he walked over to the door and opened it. He felt his heart soar when he came face to face with Anthony. He looked even better than he had the last time he saw him.  
“Hey Loki.” Anthony said giving Loki a wink. He felt his knees go weak and was thankful he still had a firm grip on the door to help hold him up. “You look great. Was kinda hoping the collar was a Holiday thing though. I say we sneak off later so you can try it on again.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> At long last we're getting into LokixTony territory


	24. Chapter 24

There were only two things going through Loki’s head at the moment. The first one was how much he wanted to drag Anthony up to his bedroom and hope no one noticed the doorbell had rung. The second was how much he wished he hadn’t left the collar sitting on his dresser back in his dorm.  
“Tony!” Thor’s booming voice made Loki jump. If Thor noticed, he didn’t say anything about it. “I’m glad you decided to come. I thought you might chicken out.”  
“Hey big guy, I don’t chicken out of anything.” Anthony followed Thor inside into the living room to meet everyone. Loki took a full thirty seconds to himself to cool down before following them in.  
Loki had never seen Odin take to someone the way he took to Anthony. It was strange and amazing. Though to be honest, Loki wasn’t really paying attention to the conversation they were having. He was too busy just watching Anthony. The facial hair that he grew for Halloween was back, and he looked so good with it. So good with it that Loki was imagining the way it would feel against his face if the two of them kissed. His Mother’s voice snapped him back to reality.  
“Darling, I need your help again.” She called out from the kitchen giving him a curious look. She was most likely wondering why he had been neglecting his duties in the kitchen that he always had enjoyed doing before. Loki’s cheeks flushed as all the eyes in the room turned toward him.  
Scurrying off into the kitchen, he was grateful his Mother didn’t say a word about it. They just worked together in harmony like they had countless times before, even if Loki’s mind was still thinking about Anthony. When everything was ready they brought the food to the dining room table and called the others in. Loki’s heart pounded in his chest when he realized he and Anthony were supposed to sit next to each other.  
Everyone settled into their seats. Odin at one end of the table, Mother at the other. Jane and Thor sat side by side across from where Loki and Anthony sat next to each other. The only one who seemed to be tense other than Loki was Jane. Though he figured he had her beat by a long shot. Loki barely listened to the conversation going on until Mother said something that almost made him choke on the food in his mouth.  
“Anthony, Darling, I’m so glad you decided to come over. You’re welcome back anytime. Any friend of my Son’s is practically a son of Mine.” No one else seemed to notice the way she glanced at Loki long and hard. The air constricted in his throat. Maybe he was imagining it, but he didn’t like the implications of her statement.  
“Thanks, Ma’am. This food is delicious by the way. My Mom could never cook. And after she died, Howie never bothered with Thanksgiving.” Anthony laughed it off like it was a story he told countless times and didn’t like people feeling sorry for him. Loki was going to have to ask him about it later. “Really though, this stuffing is to die for.”  
“Well that’s Loki’s specialty. He makes it every year.” Loki stared into his cup rather than at his Mother, desperately willing his cheeks not to flush. It didn’t work. It was true that he always made the stuffing, but he didn’t like being called out on it. Especially since Odin always belittled Loki’s cooking as ‘Women’s Work’. Thankfully he directed that comment at Jane.  
“Jane, do you do any cooking” Odin asked her, ignoring the way she flinched at his loud voice.  
“Um, well.” Clearly she was uncomfortable. Loki couldn’t help but enjoy the fact that he wasn’t the only one wishing he was somewhere else. “I do a little here and there.”  
Thor, being a wonderful boyfriend for once, saved her from the conversation by changing the subject. Relief flooded her face and Loki gave her a sympathetic look. He had been so worried about Odin judging him that he never thought Jane would feel the same. After dinner he would make sure to have a conversation with her to help her relax.  
A few minutes later Loki froze with his fork midway to his mouth when he felt a hand on his knee. He waited two seconds before he continued eating. The hand didn’t move, so Loki did his best to ignore it. It didn’t work. If his heart could beat out of his chest, he was sure it would be laying next to the cranberry sauce on the table by now.  
When he felt Anthony’s hand start drifting up slowly, he nearly bit through his tongue. Once the hand reached halfway up his thigh, Loki gave Anthony a sideways glace, willing him to stop. Anthony wouldn’t even look at him, he just say there eating his food, joking with Thor, smiling at Mother, like he wasn’t feeling up their baby boy. The way he acted like nothing was happening was absolutely insane. Loki didn’t know what to do, but when the hand reached his cock, he just took a big gulp of his drink.  
By now he was hard. Mostly from the touching, but partially because of the taboo situation he was in. Just the thought of doing something so naughty so close to his family was as equally terrifying as it was exciting. The soft strokes were driving him crazy. Loki didn’t know what to do, so he just leaned back in his chair and spread his legs a little, giving Anthony have better access. He almost moaned when the grip around him tightened.  
“Alright boys who wants to clear the table?” Mother’s voice brought him back to reality yet again. Loki looked around to see that everyone had finished their food except him. Usually he would offer, but in his current situation he couldn’t get up without embarrassing himself.  
“I can.” Anthony said, snatching his hand away from Loki’s crotch. Luckily no one seemed to notice. “Really. It’s the least I can do. Loki’s almost finished anyway. I’m sure he can help me after. Right, Lokes?”  
“Of course. I wouldn’t mind at all.” Loki felt tingly at the nickname Anthony had given him. “Once I’m uh, done here.”  
“Take your time, Tiger.” Anthony whispered in his ear as soon as everyone had funneled out into the living room. “Or maybe I could help you out.”


	25. Chapter 25

“You’ve got some nerve, you know.” Loki said with disbelief. Anthony was ballsy and Loki wasn’t sure why he had been going along with it in the first place.  
“Oh come on, babe, we’re just having fun.” Anthony practically purred in his ear. Loki desperately tried not to shiver. His head cleared a little bit now that he didn’t have a hand on his crotch and a room full of family.  
“Not in front of my family.” Loki pushed his chair back, trying to get up to put some distance between the two of them.  
“Alright.” Anthony was on him as soon as he was out of the chair, pressing their bodies together “So lets go somewhere more private.”  
“That’s not what I meant.” It didn’t sound like an awful idea, but he knew there was no way the two of them could sneak off anywhere together without his family noticing. He wasn’t really in the mood for Thor to come searching for them. That wouldn’t end well. “What’s gotten into you?”  
“Just a couple drinks. A little pre-game before I got here.” By now Anthony was pressing little kisses to Loki’s neck that sent tingles straight down to his cock. The only thing he could think to do was back up before he started enjoying it too much. It caused an adorable pout to spread across the other mans face. “Aw man, come back.”  
“No. Now help me clean up. Or else you’re going to have to explain to Mother why its not done.” He picked up his plate and brought it to the trashcan to scrape out the leftovers before Anthony could try anything else. Reluctantly Anthony did the same, looking sad. Side by side they worked together, packing away food and doing dishes. Eventually Loki was able to relax.  
“She probably wouldn’t care. She seems to love me.” Anthony finally broke the less-than-peaceful silence.  
“She likes your charm, but make no mistake, Mother would snap you in half if she walked in on us doing whatever you had in mind.” Just the thought of it made Loki chuckle to himself. He may be an adult now, but he was still his Mother’s little boy.  
“You know, I got the feeling she physically could do that. She seems so fierce.” Anthony grabbed a plate out of Loki’s hand, drying it off. His face dropped just a little. “My Mom was much more soft. Dainty and delicate.”  
“What happened to her?” Loki asked tentatively. He wanted an answer equally as much as he didn’t want to ask the question. Curiosity won out in the end, as usual.  
“Car accident. It was a long time ago, you know.” Anthony’s whole body seemed to slouch at the memory. Loki never lost a parent, so he couldn’t relate to the pain his friend was feeling. Wait, no, they weren’t friends. They weren’t really anything. Though Anthony was desperately trying to change that. “I miss her, but hey that’s life. Just a shame it was her and not Howie.”  
“Howie?” Loki asked, taking note of the way Anthony’s body bristled at the name.  
“Daddy Dearest. I know, it makes me sound like a monster, but I’ll tell you about him some time. You wont think I’m so bad then.” Loki didn’t think that made Anthony sound bad at all. He understood favoring one Parent over the other, and truthfully, if it ever came down to it, he knew who he’d choose, too.   
“He must be truly awful if you’d rather spend your Thanksgiving with Thor.” And Me. He didn’t say it out loud, but the words hung in the air regardless.  
“You know, I hear about sibling rivalry, but I cant relate. It’s always been just me. But I don’t think Thor is as bad as you say. Sure he snores so loud I can hear it through the walls. I can hear Jane too, but she’s not snoring, if you catch my drift.” Anthony laughed to himself and nudged Loki on the arm. The brief touch sent electricity shooting through his whole body. “But I’m sure I’m not exactly quiet in that department either, and trust me I‘ve brought a lot of loud girls home. And he‘s never complained about it.”  
“Oh.” Loki’s voice was barley audible. A burning sensation in his chest made it a little hard to breathe. It was a touch of jealousy with a pang of anger. He scolded himself right away. It was ridiculous for him to be angry considering he barley knew anything about Anthony. It’s not like they were together. It’s not like Anthony wanted anything out of him but sex. Oh. That’s where the anger was coming from. At least he could reason with himself that he simply didn’t want to be used.   
“No, no. Don’t give me that voice. I don’t know why I told you that, you not just ‘one of the guys’. I take it back. I think I might’ve been trying to impress you.” Anthony manhandled Loki into facing him. A warm hand cupped at Loki’s cheek. Reluctantly he looked into Anthony’s eyes and was blown away by the concern he saw there. “But I take it back. You don’t want me to talk about them? Fine. You don’t want me to see anyone else? That’s fine too. As long as you’re willing to give me a shot.”  
“I beg your pardon?” Loki was so shocked that he took a step back, accidentally hitting a cup on the counter. If it hadn’t been for Anthony’s quick reaction to reach out and catch it, the cup would’ve been a pile of glass on the floor now.  
“Really? That kind of thing kills with the ladies. The ladies I just promised not to talk about. Let’s try this again.” Anthony took a step back, thankfully giving Loki space. “You seem like the kind of guy that likes to take things slow. So do you want to go on a date? Tomorrow. Dinner. And a movie. Or just a cup of coffee, if it means you’ll stop looking at me like I have five heads.”  
Loki had to forcefully stop himself from gawking at Anthony. He had assumed the slightly sleazy looking man that had done nothing but fondle him only wanted sex. Loki was still weary, but he couldn’t imagine saying anything but yes. He’d never forgive himself if he said no now. Things had just gotten interesting.

**Author's Note:**

> Dont forget, comments and kudos are life


End file.
